Normal Rooster behaviour?????

[Le Mitzer]

Just a few questions.....
I just introduced a new rooster and chicken ( coucou de Renne, i think) to my exsisting flock of three. i did the whole watch then for two weeks, nothing strange and looked all healthy, it has been just over a week since they have all been together, and my rooster 'Kramer' is not acting like i expected a rooster to act. but the little girl Missy is fine.

First of all he is a late crower, in-between 7:30 and 10 he starts, and then just a bit now and then. but the last couple day it has been less and less.

secondly i find him sitting down A LOT, but if i get close he will get up and run away, where the four other chickens are running around, looking for bugs, scratching, you know acting like chickens should.

thirdly he is not dominate over the chickens, well the one he was raised with missy, he is, but not with the three other birds, but they are full size and he is a bantam.

Lastly the other day i notice his foot was bleeding, a broken feather, i cleaned it right away and threw him back in the mix i figured he is a rooster and he be able to fend for him self, which he did, it has healed and it is only once and awhile the other peck at it,

three suggest i have been given are One his is sick, two he might be gay and that is why he is not interested in the girls (which i'm ok with, im down with free choice) or three he is still young and hasn't figured out his place in the flock and is a bit nervous, ( i also find him trembling when the others come to close)

i asked a guy i work with who has a bunch of different animals, and he said i should watch that very closely cause he sounds sick, and if in a day or two hes does start actly differently, into the soup pot. i dont want to eat kramer, i love my rooster.

Please help.....

 

[CMTSMWC]

Well my roosters crow whenever they want to...not just in the morning. And they lay around in the sun. He is bantam right? and the other hens are standard size? That is probably why he isn't dominant. One of the hens is probably the dominant one and she is bigger than him and isn't going to step down unless he really stands up for himself.

 

[Le Mitzer]

yes he is a bantam, and i have two ladies in charge actually who are full size, nugget and pouic pouic, they share the roles of alpha chicken,

but he comes right up when i give them treats, and the other three dont bully him like they do missy.

 

[Ridgerunner]

From Feathersite. I'd never heard of that breed.

This ancient Breton chicken had all but disappeared 1988. A local breed which was found in the countryside surrounding Rennes and more generally throughout Brittany up to the last War. A rustic and vigorous breed, the Coucou de Rennes are renowned for the fact that they remain good layers for many years. A bird which adapts equally well to hot or cold -- even very wet regions. An average layer, the quality of its meat is unparalleled. In blind tasting tests it is a breed that always finds itself in the top places. It is impossible to compare it with commercially raised chicken as it needs four months before it is ready for cooking. A good broody. A fairly unsociable bird that ideally needs plenty of space.

I'm not sure what to tell you. His age is probably more important than the fact that he is a bantam in with full sized chickens. Usually, their position in the flock pecking order is determined by the spirit in chicken than just by pure size. It is not that unusual for bantam roosters to dominate full sized roosters.

If he is fairly young and the hens are mature, it is very possible that the mature hens are being pretty brutal to him. It depends on the rooster and hens, but often a hen wants a rooster that has the self-confidence so he can really impress her with his magnificence. He should be a good protector, find them food, break up fights between the other chickens, in general keep a safe and peaceful flock. I've had a fifteen week old rooster able to do this, but that is extremely rare. Usually adolescents are not mature enough to win the respect of the older hens. If they don't respect him, the hens will often go out of their way to be brutal to a young male.

If they are brutalizing him, it is possible he is more staying out of their way than being lethargic or anything. My young chickens with the flock stay hidden a lot or stay a long way from the adults when they can. It's safer for them that way. It is possible he is sick. He could still try to get away from you, but if he is sick he would probably be sort of puffed up as well as not real active. It is really hard to say.

I'd worry a lot more if he is a fully mature rooster than if he is an adolescent rooster. It's a little hard to give exact ages when they mature because each rooster has its own personality and mature at different rates. The personality of the hens makes a difference too. As I said, I've had a rooster mature enough at 15 weeks, but it is more normal for it to take a few months longer, sometimes close to a year old.

 

[Le Mitzer]

im living in the south of france, so i just found then at a local chicken show a couple weeks ago, they are a mixed breed coucou de Renne and some other type,one that grows feather on their feet; the little missy layed her first egg today, a small little white one. i was so pround