over-mating aggressive rooster

[Ridgerunner]

The more restrictions you put on yourself the harder it is to solve problems. We all have our own morality and ways we choose to live our lives. Those choices have consequences we have to live with. It sounds like you are willing to live with yours. Sometimes that is not easy.

Donrae summed your options up pretty well but Centrarchid added an interesting twist. If you absolutely have to keep that rooster, treat him like you would a pet poisonous snake or a wild bear or lion. Build him a secure pen but isolate him from the hens. He can be next to the hens but he should not be allowed to get to them. He won’t like it much at first but he will get used to it. The hens may actually miss him at first but they will soon adjust and be much happier. You will be much happier.

It’s possible you have a late maturing cockerel and he will eventually mature enough to act as a true flock master. You might try putting him back with the hens in several months to see if he has changed. It may work but he may (and probably will) need to be isolated for the rest of his life. In no way allow any kids anywhere around that rooster. He will remain a danger for the rest of his life.

 

[Mochadlik]

I am interested in the phrase " true flock master"? I am new to breeding chickens and turkeys although I gave had chickens for years. What are the characteristics to look for if one is not breeding for color or confirmation? How does one spot a male with a more "stately suite of behavoirs"?

 

[centrarchid]

I like the term "harem master" better. I distinguish a harem master from a satellite male based on several measures. Harem master defends a territory while the satlite does not. Satellite more concerned pecking order. Harem master produces tidbit calls that are legitimate and not always used as a prelude to mating. His voice is also deeper. Flockmaster invests more in defending young / potential young from predators. He does a better job of distracting predator so hens can reach cover with some predators such as hawks he will engage them but as far as i can tell only to protect offspring. Satellite tends to slink away.


Transition from satellite to harem master can be delayed by another harem master within limits. Remove harem master and satellite that is fully mature can take over in hours to a couple of days. I think hormone difference involved. My birds have to be what are called bullstags to be harem masters that have all adult feathers fully in. They can usually be suppressed by having a fully mature bird that is in at least his second fully mature feather set. With some chickens you can distinguish between the two types of males based on appearance of tail sicle feathers.


Hens have not trouble distinguishing between two and I think voice is most important signal for that.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I’m sure others will have different criteria but I want a rooster that dances for his ladies, finds them food and lets them eat first, keeps peace in his flock, and looks out for danger. He does not have to die for his flock but part of his duties are to watch for danger and alert his flock. He also should be curious, going to out things that might be dangerous and positioning himself between the potential threat and the flock until he has decided if there is a threat or not. He needs to break up fights between his underlings, though juvenile pecking order stuff should not bother him that much until the cockerels get old enough to get really rowdy.

He should protect his entire flock, chicks and broodies, not just the laying hens. A rooster that is people aggressive is absolutely not acceptable. Roosters need to have the personality to dominate their flock without being brutal, though he needs to be willing to enforce his will where necessary. An example of this is that I had a cockerel that was raised in the flock without a dominant male. A certain hen took over flock leadership and kept that cockerel in line. But when he matured enough to take over the role of flock leader that hen did not want to give up her position. For two days that cockerel was aggressive toward that hen, pecking her and forcefully mating her. After two days of this she accepted his dominance and they became best of buddies. That didn’t bother me because she had a strong personality but if it had gone on much longer it would have meant he did not have the personality to be a good flock leader.

In short a rooster needs to have the personality to dominate his flock through self-confidence and force of will, not just brute force.

How to select for this in a flock situation is rough. I don’t always get it right. When you have a dominant rooster he takes on these roles and suppresses any other rooster or cockerel that tries to take over his position. You can’t tell how a cockerel will perform when he is put into the leader’s position and no longer has a dominant chicken, rooster or hen, keeping him in line. It’s a lot of responsibility being flock master. Some handle it better than others. Their behavior can change dramatically going from underling to dominant one.

So what do I look for? First I eliminate any that fail my basic criteria, whether that be color, size, conformation, or anything else depending on what your goals are. If one was especially brutal to his siblings at a younger age he is gone. I had one cockerel that killed a sibling at two weeks of age. When they hit butcher size he was the first one gone.

Once I weed out the unfit I look for a fairly early maturing cockerel. The faster they mature the more likely they are to have a stronger personality and more self-confidence. The less time it will take them to take over too. I don’t have to take the most dominant of the group of cockerels but I do want one of the top ones. Even if he is not the winner of all fights he needs to be fighting the other cockerels for dominant position. He needs to show an interest in mating the older hens even when fairly young. The dominant rooster will break that up and the more dominant hens will resist but the hens at the bottom of the pecking order probably squat for him.

There is a lot of judgment involved, but I’m just looking for a dominant one that can lead the flock based on leadership, not brutality. It’s hard to be real specific about that.

 

[gus2pp]

We just had a similar situation. We kept a new roo from one of our clutches that hatched, and as he matured we started finding bald patches all over our girls. Him trying to mate with them was like watching a rodeo, the girls would try so hard to get away from him. We are not vegan, so we processed him ourselves. I do so empathize with seeing your girls battered. Whatever option you choose, do so fast. It has been three days without this scoudrel, and our hens are visibally more relaxed. Good luck!