Ribh's D'Coopage

[WhoDatChick]

I don't really have rooster experience. I think you want Kris for this one though I would think your big girls would teach him his manners. Personally I'd separate him, @ least some of the time, so your girls aren't living in terror.

Yea, that’s what I was thinking.. to separate.... I mean, he is going after ones that really aren’t doing anything about him.. and he obviously knows it.. so I don’t know how long this can go on.. Ruby even went after Goosie while she was fleeing and freaking! So that didn’t help.. I feel like she should go after him but no..

 

[BY Bob]

Okay people.. I NEED advice... I know Vinny is young but he is after the ladies... he is targeting the lower ranked gals.. he has “attacked” Nilky and Kelly from the big gals group and poor Goosie from the middles group.. and quite often I might add! Goosie FREAKS and flies all around screaming! He seems to be watching the skies and tid-bitting.. although he has cried wolf too many times so no one pays attention as he never has any treats ... I did see him do some sort of wiggling around Kelly and then tried to “attack”... I guess his attempt at courting ... what I’d like to know is.. do I remove him or should I give him a chance to learn manners? I just don’t like the gals getting so upset.. especially poor Goosie.. she is such a weirdo!
Ribh.. @Kris5902 @rjohns39 @HuffleClaw @BY Bob and anyone else that may have some rooster experience..

Jabber was not good. Even Hattie tried to get away at times. I have video posted of Patsy knocking him off of Hattie and then smacking him and running him off. Frankly Jabber was a good tidbitter but none of my hens were really receptive to his "attentions". He did "give them the wing" and try to dance for their pleasure but they just tried to get away when he did. Frankly he upset the whole flock. Only Patsy could keep him in check some.

Vinny will continue to grow as well. Jabber was bigger and stronger than Patsy in the end. I was always worried about what that fight would be like.

Removing Vinny may give him a chance to mature without your hens bearing the brunt of his teenage years. How old is he? I would definately consider separate living quarters for him. I'm just not sure for how long. He will need to be visible to the hens so they still interact. I just don't know how long without knowing how old he is.

 

[WhoDatChick]

Jabber was not good. Even Hattie tried to get away at times. I have video posted of Patsy knocking him off of Hattie and then smacking him and running him off. Frankly Jabber was a good tidbitter but none of my hens were really receptive to his "attentions". He did "give them the wing" and try to dance for their pleasure but they just tried to get away when he did. Frankly he upset the whole flock. Only Patsy could keep him in check some.

Vinny will continue to grow as well. Jabber was bigger and stronger than Patsy in the end. I was always worried about what that fight would be like.

Removing Vinny may give him a chance to mature without your hens bearing the brunt of his teenage years. How old is he? I would definately consider separate living quarters for him. I'm just not sure for how long. He will need to be visible to the hens so they still interact. I just don't know how long without knowing how old he is.

Okay, thanks...
He is 14 weeks old this week.. he is one of my Cochin bantams so he will be smaller than all the standard gals.. but he is going after the standards now... he isn’t trying very hard with his “sisters” who are Cochin as well.. they seem to keep him in check...
He is pulling out feathers though.. on the ones he’s after..

 

[BY Bob]

Okay, thanks...
He is 14 weeks old this week.. he is one of my Cochin bantams so he will be smaller than all the standard gals.. but he is going after the standards now... he isn’t trying very hard with his “sisters” who are Cochin as well.. they seem to keep him in check...
He is pulling out feathers though.. on the ones he’s after..

14 weeks, boy, you got a ways to go. At least he won't be real big. How much separation could you manage? If you could keep then apart but visible for a while and then start providing short supervised visits with the flock I think that might ease the flock through his growing pains. Just an idea.

I'm not sure how much you can take on. This will take your time as well. Otherwise the flock will figure it out eventually but it will likely be painful until they do.

 

[Ribh]

14 weeks, boy, you got a ways to go. At least he won't be real big. How much separation could you manage? If you could keep then apart but visible for a while and then start providing short supervised visits with the flock I think that might ease the flock through his growing pains. Just an idea.

I'm not sure how much you can take on. This will take your time as well. Otherwise the flock will figure it out eventually but it will likely be painful until they do.

I forgot you had Jabber... I find roosters a handful though good ones are worth their weight in gold.

 

[MaryJanet]

There we go again. I am still looking for MaryJanet's *chicken in a hurry.*

Ummmm well I didn't have my specs on when I saw the hurrying chicken

 

[Kris5902]

Okay people.. I NEED advice... I know Vinny is young but he is after the ladies... he is targeting the lower ranked gals.. he has “attacked” Nilky and Kelly from the big gals group and poor Goosie from the middles group.. and quite often I might add! Goosie FREAKS and flies all around screaming! He seems to be watching the skies and tid-bitting.. although he has cried wolf too many times so no one pays attention as he never has any treats ... I did see him do some sort of wiggling around Kelly and then tried to “attack”... I guess his attempt at courting ... what I’d like to know is.. do I remove him or should I give him a chance to learn manners? I just don’t like the gals getting so upset.. especially poor Goosie.. she is such a weirdo!
Ribh.. @Kris5902 @rjohns39 @HuffleClaw @BY Bob and anyone else that may have some rooster experience..

He’s your only boy right? Does he show any other behavior issues? I’ve forgotten exactly how many hens you have all together

He might settle down nicely with time, or he might not... it’s really hard to say. Is Goosie laying yet? And if so is she a new layer? my very new layers and girls that weren’t laying yet we’re the ones the most freaked out by Mr Marans attentions, then he learned to go to the more accepting ladies.

It really takes them all a while to get the whole hang of the “mating” bit down, and for the girls to figure out it’s his affections and not an actual attack, even if they are older, if they haven’t had a rooster before. When I put Chickie Hawk in with the older hens I took from the farm everyone freaked out for several days, and it was a few weeks before they were all “ok” with his affections.

If they have space to escape him I would give it a little bit before you jump to separate him, unless he’s doing real damage. He will need to practice his courtship and techniques to get the hang of it... it’s a learning curve, and taking him away from the ladies could have a negative impact on his attitude (I think this was a contributing factor to my issues with Chickie Hawk)

I’ve noticed that the young male urges seem most prominent first thing in the morning, then things settle down. And remember chicken mating can look very violent, especially with a young cockerel that hasn’t a clue what goes where, and how to get the ladies to like him. 14 weeks is young, I would give them all some time but keep a close eye on things for problems like bare necks, cuts on their backs, or him getting too roughly schooled by the older/bigger girls for his behaviors. When I added the farm girls into Chickie Hawks pen I had to separate him for his own protection, the 1/2 his size little hens where fit to kill him from the moment he tried to mount one of them. So things can be deceiving.

 

[Ribh]

Ummmm well I didn't have my specs on when I saw the hurrying chicken

Thank goodness. I looked & looked & couldn't figure out a chicken

 

[MaryJanet]

With specs on, I agree with everyone who said elephant

 

[MaryJanet]

Without specs there was no trunk!