Question on cockerel behavior

[aatx]

I have 11 chickens that are 13 weeks old. I previously had 17, but 6 were clearly roosters, so I gave them away a few weeks ago (before I became more attached to them.) The day after, one of my Silkies started crowing. He had already developed a large comb, so we were pretty certain he would be a roo, but he had not shown any of the behavioral signs the others did yet. (I have Easter Egger Bantams, Dominique Bantams, Buff Orpington Bantams, and Silkies)

So, out of the 11 I have left, I know 1 is a male (his name is Mango). I know 7 are pullets. And I have 3 Silkies that I am unsure of. I'm hoping the other 3 silkies are female, as I am only comfortable keeping 1 male. The other three are noticeably smaller and none have shown comb or wattle development. *Fingers crossed.*

So, to get onto my question....

Background - Mango has started being a bit of a butt, just like a juvenile rooster should! (Only to other chickens, not us.) As soon as I open the pop door in the mornings and they all run out, he spends a few minutes chasing the others around. (They are faster than him, though.) He's pulled out a few feathers when he's snuck up on one and bit down and they squawk and jump and pull away. I'm fairly certain this is him coming into sexual maturity and the pullets are not there yet. He's awkward and pushy and it all seems like that is normal.

Question - Does he 'KNOW' who is a female or would he be acting the same towards everyone? The reason I ask is that in past mornings I have noticed him going after the buffs and EEs (that I know are female), but today I had a few minutes to watch and he went after 2 of the other silkies. I'm just wondering if this could *hopefully* be another sign that they are female.

 

[sourland]

He's a teenaged cockerel feeling testosterone overload. Almost all roosters are overly amorous in the morning upon release - he's normal. Silky gender is as difficult for other birds to tell as it is for us. His behavior does not indicate that the silkies are pullets - hopefully they are.

 

[aatx]

He's a teenaged cockerel feeling testosterone overload. Almost all roosters are overly amorous in the morning upon release - he's normal. Silky gender is as difficult for other birds to tell as it is for us. His behavior does not indicate that the silkies are pullets - hopefully they are.

LOL, okay thanks. I just didn't know if that was something they could sense pretty early or not.

I gave him a trim this week (hair/feathers around his eyes) and he seems even more amorous (good word for it) now that he can probably see a bit better. Still funny to watch the sleek EEs run from the big ball of fluff.