Pullet dominant to roos?

[SwampPrincessChick]

Yeah, I'm an absolute newby. I'm figuring this stuff out on the fly. I would never have guessed that this is normal, but it's good to know.

Chickens are odd, but entertaining. It is interesting finding out all about them as you spend time with them!

 

[aart]

Yeah, I'm an absolute newby. I'm figuring this stuff out on the fly. I would never have guessed that this is normal, but it's good to know.

Not to worry, experience is the best teacher....
...meanwhile you can get some good guidance and hear others experiences here at BYC.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Senior roo is about 2 years. All the rest are between 6 and 7 months.

One rooster that should be mature but sounds like a bit of a wimp, one cockerel feeling his hormones, and 5 pullets that are probably laying eggs. When they start laying is typically when my pullets start acting like mature hens but it is a process. An interesting mix and some interesting results.

It is not unusual for a dominant hen to beat up on cockerels, especially if they try to mate with another hen or pullet in her presence. She's dominant and wants to maintain her dominance. The mating act is an act of dominance. The one on the bottom is accepting the dominance of the one on top, either willingly or by force. When that cockerel tries to mate one of the pullets in front of her that is a threat to her dominance so she knocks him off. That's usually all it is, she knocks him off and he runs away but occasionally she might chase him down to do some violence. Some people call that schooling a cockerel, I just consider it a dominant chicken trying to maintain their dominance.

Why did she peck that other pullet? My guess is that she is telling her who is the real boss in the flock. I've seen a dominant hen mount another hen to demonstrate that when there is not a dominant rooster in the flock. There was an immature cockerel and she was mounting in front of him, daring him to do something about it.

What I consider unusual in your case is that you have what should be a dominant rooster in the flock. I don't see that behavior when I have a dominant rooster in my flock. It sounds like he doesn't have the strength of personality or the self-confidence to truly be the flock master. I personally have not seen it but some people on here posted that they have had flocks where a hen dominates the rooster. He'd fertilize the eggs but she was definitely the boss. Each chicken has its own personality, that's a big part of what makes them so fascinating.

I agree with Aart. Separate one of the boys and see what happens. They are probably still maturing so there could be some shifts in behavior, they are not all true adults yet. If you choose that cockerel, at some point he should mature to the point that he stands up to that dominant pullet in a bid to become flock master. That could get pretty violent for a day or two or it might be a smooth transition that you don't even notice. Most of mine are really smooth but I did have one that got pretty violent. That was when I had a dominant hen with a really strong personality and a cockerel that was kind of weak willed. He won and they became best of buddies but it was a rough two days to watch.

 

[LaurenRitz]

Yeah, the older roo let's the young one mate and ignores it. The young one lost his claws to frostbite so he doesn't do well in a physical confrontation, but he's the one that takes care of the flock, watching for danger, titbitting, etc. He handles any necessary discipline and literally pushes himself under the senior roo when he tries to mount one of the hens. The senior roo accepts it.

I heard that Biels were gentle, but the bullied pullet is also a Biel and I'm beginning to question that choice. Maybe too passive, as a breed?

The older roo still crows first, and I've seen him put the young one in his place a number of times. He has no problem attacking me, which I wonder now if that has roots in flock dynamics.