Question about Cockerel

[FBMcrazy8]

I hope you all can see it. My husband caught it. He said right before that she was screaming and the other girls showed up around her.

https://pin.it/YB0Tzov

 

[FBMcrazy8]

I hope you all can see it. My husband caught it. He said right before that she was screaming and the other girls showed up around her.

https://pin.it/YB0Tzov

He is doing it to others but this one in the video he chases down.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don't like the way she is acting. She should be more active than that if that is how she normally acts. Is she eating and drinking? How active is she normally? If she is eating and drinking and normally active then ignore this but one thought is that she may be sick or injured. If she is often like this you might isolate her and see how she behaves. The flock, girls as well as boys, sometimes try to run a sick or injured bird out of the flock. That's instinctive as sick or injured birds might attract predators. From what you said I don't think this is it. He does this to all of them, not just her.

Since it was right after he heard screaming he may have just attacked her and she was cowed or injured. That's not the behavior I would have expected. If she could, I'd expect her to run away. If she felt trapped I'd expect her to lay down and try to protect her head. But he is not pecking at her head trying to kill her, he's dragging her around. That's more like dominance behavior. She is submitting to him, not resisting that much.
You said he does this to others but he chases this one down. Sometimes a chicken can develop an animosity toward one specific chicken. It's often the boys but the girls can do this too. They may see them as weak or unhealthy, not worthy to be a flock member or they may consider them a rival for flock leadership, not weak at all but he can beat her up. I don't know how much he picks on this specific girl. My concern on the video is much more her reaction than his actions. I don't see him as trying to injure her.

At 8 weeks I still think you have a precocious boy, the hormones have hit early. I don't think your girls are in any great danger from him. But you said you could isolate him. I think I'd do that and see how the girls react without him. Then after about a week turn him loose and see what happens. Isolation can sometimes change behaviors.

You said you want to keep him, even if he was an accident. I try to solve these things for the peace of the flock, I've removed boys and girls to do that. But these are 8 weeks old, way too young to know how they will behave when they actually grow up. You may be able to leave him with the girls as they mature. You may need to isolate him for the next 2 to 4 months to give them, boy and girls, a chance to grow up and see how they will behave as adults.

Sometimes animal husbandry requires you to make some hard choices. I don't think you are there yet. Good luck!

 

[FBMcrazy8]

I don't like the way she is acting. She should be more active than that if that is how she normally acts. Is she eating and drinking? How active is she normally? If she is eating and drinking and normally active then ignore this but one thought is that she may be sick or injured. If she is often like this you might isolate her and see how she behaves. The flock, girls as well as boys, sometimes try to run a sick or injured bird out of the flock. That's instinctive as sick or injured birds might attract predators. From what you said I don't think this is it. He does this to all of them, not just her.

Since it was right after he heard screaming he may have just attacked her and she was cowed or injured. That's not the behavior I would have expected. If she could, I'd expect her to run away. If she felt trapped I'd expect her to lay down and try to protect her head. But he is not pecking at her head trying to kill her, he's dragging her around. That's more like dominance behavior. She is submitting to him, not resisting that much.
You said he does this to others but he chases this one down. Sometimes a chicken can develop an animosity toward one specific chicken. It's often the boys but the girls can do this too. They may see them as weak or unhealthy, not worthy to be a flock member or they may consider them a rival for flock leadership, not weak at all but he can beat her up. I don't know how much he picks on this specific girl. My concern on the video is much more her reaction than his actions. I don't see him as trying to injure her.

At 8 weeks I still think you have a precocious boy, the hormones have hit early. I don't think your girls are in any great danger from him. But you said you could isolate him. I think I'd do that and see how the girls react without him. Then after about a week turn him loose and see what happens. Isolation can sometimes change behaviors.

You said you want to keep him, even if he was an accident. I try to solve these things for the peace of the flock, I've removed boys and girls to do that. But these are 8 weeks old, way too young to know how they will behave when they actually grow up. You may be able to leave him with the girls as they mature. You may need to isolate him for the next 2 to 4 months to give them, boy and girls, a chance to grow up and see how they will behave as adults.

Sometimes animal husbandry requires you to make some hard choices. I don't think you are there yet. Good luck!

She isn’t sick or injured. She is eating and drinking ok and pooping just fine. The girls don’t mind her, but he just won’t leave her alone. She wants to stay away from him all together. This morning he did the same thing to the barred rock but they are less willing to put up with his attitude. But last night I put them in their coop and he was roosted right by her. Before my husband took the video he was picking on her and she screamed and the other girls came running to like protect her. He said that they created a barrier around her and he couldn’t get to her.

I ordered some French Black Marans before this happened and they should be here Wednesday. I have an area that we are sectioning off for them when it’s time for them to make visits outside. He is going to start going in there.

I really don’t want to get rid of him and because of how old he is I feel like he may need more time. But I also don’t want him hurting them either. The girls come first no matter what.

Part of me wonders if it’s cause she still has some fluffy baby feathers on her back. Before I moved them outside they all got along great, no problems at all.

Edit: I also wanted to add that once I convince her to come out from under the coop or from inside of it, she does just fine. Until he comes around or runs at her. The other girls don’t have a problem with her at all.

 

[FBMcrazy8]

This is a picture of her. You can see she still has some fluff on her back

Edit: he doesn’t even mess with her “all the time”, he just walked by her and ignored her.

 

[FBMcrazy8]

You can’t see it that well but I circled them. The one circled in red is the pullet and the blue is the cockerel….I don’t know, maybe she is is favorite out of the 17 girls????

 

[Mrs. K]

I always solve for peace in the flock. I would not keep this cockerel. Part of it is my experience in raising flock mate roosters. I just get a lot better roosters in a multi-generational flock.

I don't do excuses either. I don't care what is going on, I want peace in the flock. I would recommend separating him and seeing how things go, but if after a couple of weeks of separation, and you put him back and this behavior shows up again, he would be culled.

If you have small children I would beware of this bird. Children tend to be attacked first, sometimes out of the blue.

Mrs K

 

[FBMcrazy8]

I always solve for peace in the flock. I would not keep this cockerel. Part of it is my experience in raising flock mate roosters. I just get a lot better roosters in a multi-generational flock.

I don't do excuses either. I don't care what is going on, I want peace in the flock. I would recommend separating him and seeing how things go, but if after a couple of weeks of separation, and you put him back and this behavior shows up again, he would be culled.

If you have small children I would beware of this bird. Children tend to be attacked first, sometimes out of the blue.

Mrs K

That is kinda my thought. Separate and see what happens. I do have small kids but they aren’t allowed in the run right now anyway. But after his behavior it’s for sure not gonna happen until I can figure this out. I didn’t order him but knew the possibility of having one was good. And actually I planned on 3. So i did have a game plan for when and if he acted up. I just wasn’t planning on so early.

 

[Idaho Chicken Bungalow]

how is the separation going?

 

[FBMcrazy8]

Actually a day or so later, he stopped with her. And she is stopped hanging back when he was around. He still try’s to corral them to where they need to go, like in the morning to the food, but he isn’t aggressive any more. He is starting to almost mellow out. I know it’s short lived but it’s just so weird how quick it changed. I’m not letting my guard down knowing how quick it changed.

I also took my youngest littles out there (3 weeks old) and I stood with them but he didn’t even mess with them. And he was the one I worried about the most.

Thank you for asking!