We have 8-9 week old chicks together, 7 pullets and one roo... The other day we've started noticing that the roo will chase some of the pullets and try to mount them (one in particular when she's lying down). Is this normal behaviour at this age? could they be older than we believed?... First time having chicks so not really sure if we are supposed to keep the roo separate from the pullets? or if he's entering maturity? Or if this is just normal and i'm over-reacting... Help please! i would hate for anything bad to start happening because we didn't know!
Its rather younger than i would expect, but there is an exception to every rule. Maybe if you post a pic of your flock we might have an idea of whether their age has been under estimated. I have not had any of my roos attempt to mount such young pullets. CT
Wow. This is very different then may experience. I have a roo that finally started crowing at a year and a half. My other ones didn't mature till 8 months to a yr. late bloomers. So I haven't seen that happen. Hope someone else has some more info. What I do know is each of mine always had their favorite girls. That part sounds normal for a roo.
I have a roo who started mounting a pullet when he was 3 1/2 weeks old. His comb turned red at one week old, so I was thinking maybe he's got a bit more testosterone running around in his system than is usual. He also has a crooked beak, so other abnormalities wouldn't be completely out of the question.
No rooster regardless of how precious it acts is fully matured and ready to led a flock until age two.
At 4 weeks old I had one of our boys trying to mount his mother! She would just growl at him. He is almost as big as her as she is an Old English Game Bantam. He also started crowing, despite the fact we have no roosters to demonstrate. Boys!
Last summer, my little nine-week old Golden Cuckoo Marans cockerel was mounting the two pullets of the same age. He had started to crow around five or six weeks. As Jen pointed out, some cockerels have more testosterone at a much younger age than most chicks, resulting in some "interesting" behavioral quirks. It's sort of like some human boys getting facial hair at age eight or nine. It certainly doesn't mean they are suddenly "men". In spite of the precocious behavior, my chick was still a baby in every respect, and he came into his hormones around the same age as most cockerels.
thank you for all the responses! seems like they are all fine, perhaps it's just part of him doing his own kind of "pecking order" already...just thought i'd make sure were not doing something wrong! Everyone still seems fine, he hasn't started to crow yet thank goodness!
