Roo trying to mate again too soon

[BubbaBubbles]

Trifle is almost a year old now and is some sort of EE bantam cross, so I was told. He mated with his lady Truffles a month ago and now they have five 4 week old chicks. Anyways, Trifle is already trying to mate with her again but she isn't having it. At first, it seemed to be a one-time issue but now he's gotten persistent. Truffles bites and jumps at him but he still tries his darndest. He doesn't even dance for her now, just jumps on her. I cannot let him mate with any of the other separate hens right now because they're still pullets and have not reached egglaying age. How in the world do I get this rooster to chill out? He's really sweet but I'm becoming concerned because Truffles is missing so many feathers from him. He's a very good papa to the babies but a questionable mate to his lady. Heck, he's shown interest and danced for the younger ladies but again, I can't let him mate with them yet. Should I separate him from her or leave it be?

 

[Saveria]

This sounds like pretty normal rooster behavior, sadly. Personally, I would separate him into a place where they can still see each other. Let him out after a couple days to a week and see if he is any better. He will probably chill out when he has more hens to mate with, too.

 

[Mrs. K]

Always solve for peace in the flock. I would pull him for a while.

 

[fluffycrow]

From what I've understood, you've had Trifle in with Truffle all this time, even while Truffles was rearing chicks. Has Truffles stopped caring for the chicks? There are two ways to go about this IMO. One way is to separate them, and put them back together in about two weeks or so when she's likely to be receptive towards the mounting. Second method is to wait it out. There are some risks involved in both, I say trust your gut feeling and go with that one. How old are the pullets?

 

[BubbaBubbles]

From what I've understood, you've had Trifle in with Truffle all this time, even while Truffles was rearing chicks. Has Truffles stopped caring for the chicks? There are two ways to go about this IMO. One way is to separate them, and put them back together in about two weeks or so when she's likely to be receptive towards the mounting. Second method is to wait it out. There are some risks involved in both, I say trust your gut feeling and go with that one. How old are the pullets?

Truffles seems to still be very protective of the chicks. She ends up pecking at the other hens through the pen fences. I have a separate flock where the pullets are because, around the time they were ready to be let out, the chicks were newborns, so I knew the flocks could not merge at the time. The pullets are about 8 weeks old, I think. One is Orpington bantam and the other is a Welsummer bantam, but the welsummers can't mate with Trifle anyway because they're most likely going to stay so small. They all see and interact with each other but have not met physically without a border.

 

[fluffycrow]

Truffles seems to still be very protective of the chicks. She ends up pecking at the other hens through the pen fences. I have a separate flock where the pullets are because, around the time they were ready to be let out, the chicks were newborns, so I knew the flocks could not merge at the time. The pullets are about 8 weeks old, I think. One is Orpington bantam and the other is a Welsummer bantam, but the welsummers can't mate with Trifle anyway because they're most likely going to stay so small. They all see and interact with each other but have not met physically without a border.
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Do you have any other mature birds apart from Truffles and Triffle?

 

[Saveria]

Truffles seems to still be very protective of the chicks. She ends up pecking at the other hens through the pen fences. I have a separate flock where the pullets are because, around the time they were ready to be let out, the chicks were newborns, so I knew the flocks could not merge at the time. The pullets are about 8 weeks old, I think. One is Orpington bantam and the other is a Welsummer bantam, but the welsummers can't mate with Trifle anyway because they're most likely going to stay so small. They all see and interact with each other but have not met physically without a border.
View attachment 3533915

I have a tiny salmon faverolle hen that lets my gigantic barred rock rooster mate with her sometimes. He is always super careful, so it may work out fine with them.

 

[Saveria]

I think he mainly stands on the ground still.

 

[fluffycrow]

I have a tiny salmon faverolle hen that lets my gigantic barred rock rooster mate with her sometimes. He is always super careful, so it may work out fine with them.

True, but OP's birds are really young pullets-only 8 weeks old. They wouldn't squat for any male

 

[BubbaBubbles]

I have a tiny salmon faverolle hen that lets my gigantic barred rock rooster mate with her sometimes. He is always super careful, so it may work out fine with them.

I'm a bit nervous about that. I recently lost a chick to flock aggression so I've become VERY cautious about all my chickens and their behaviors. I never witnessed Trifle mate with Truffles except for one time when they had both just matured and he had started crowing for the first time lol. He seems to be careful but between him and the other hens Truffles fights with, I'm afraid she'll take more damage than she should. She's a very sweet little lady and Trifle helps out by bringing her food for the chicks but he always tries to mount whenever she leans over to peck some food - which I'm aware is normal courting behavior in chickens but her moodiness has not gone down and probably won't until the chicks can be separated from her. This is my first time in years having a flock. My last flock was all hens, so having a rooster has made some changes to what I'm used to lol