Roo hormones or just a bully?

[duncan026]

No Mary the pullets are not being injured, just the other rooster. We have a 8x10 coop and a 12x20 covered run so I think that is enough room. If it gets too ugly I can put one in the coop and close the door while we figure out what to do. Thank you both for the advice

 

[Melissa22]

I did not know not to breed hatchery stock. Thanks

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I will separate the young roosters for a while if they are annoying me, I just released my latest who has be penned up since June, he is now a polite young man, I have a pen built within my shed where they can see everyone but they are separated. The young roosters seems to be ready before the hens and are too eager to show off and tell everyone what to do. Some grow out of it some don't, I just culled a polish rooster who only was mating and running, so he went. Like to see how they turn out before I make my decisions. I do enjoy roosters.

 

[chickmomma03]

I am having internal conflict right now too. My BO roo is 4mos and is turning into a bit of a jerk (I guess he's from a hatchery, bought at the hardware store). He normally stays/stayed out of my way, but lately when I let them out in the morning he rushes out and does this little dance and gives me the stink eye, afternoon I go in to change water and when I go to go in he does the little dance, flaps his wings, and acts like he wants to come at me, if I don't wait until they're in the coop at night he acts like a little butthead. He bit my finger the other day which just ticked me off and put me on edge a little bit (I have anxiety disorder, and I know I'm overthinking, but I'm having a hard time enjoying my time with my chickens when he acts like I'm an intruder). I've heard 1 bad apple can ruin the bunch, he's not really mean to the girls, but when Ghost (my delaware pullet) hopped on my lap yesterday as she always does he charged and she flew down and hid under my chair. I worry about not having a roo in the group how it will change the dynamics, and then I also would have no roo to fertilize eggs (I want to do some hatches at some point). :/

I usually go out there at least 4 times a day (morning, afternoon, evening, night time). I like to sit out in the evening and just relax with them, but with his attitude it's not been so enjoyable since my 2 snugglers haven't really been able to hang out on my lap thanks to him.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

My advice is to chase him away like a dominant rooster, don't show fear, I keep saying that I have a blue coffee can scoop that I will toss at a rooster if he does something I don't like, someone else says they use their chicken catching net, I then will chase them away. I treat my roosters like I'm head rooster, no one messes with me, a rooster should respect your space, I no longer need to worry about aggressive roosters, I don't handle them, I have a lot of roosters, no body bothers me. Most young roosters will settle down after a few months.

 

[junebuggena]

If you're serious about producing quality birds that meet the breed standard, you need to do a bit of research. Hatchery birds are bred for quantity, not quality. They often cross in other breeds to increase the laying and development rate of poor producers or slower to mature breeds. This causes some not-quite-standard birds. Sometimes you get off comb types that will pop up, or the wrong color legs, or bad coloring. Hatchery stock rarely meet the standards for a particular breed. Most noticeably, with Orpingtons, hatchery birds are smaller and more lightly built, show quality Orpingtons are large and rounded out birds.
If you just want some pretty buff birds, hatchery stock is fine. But if you want good quality breeding birds, you'll need to source from a breeder. There are a lot of good Orpington breeders that sell day old chicks and send them in the mail, just like the big hatcheries do.

 

[Melissa22]

Thank you.