Rooster behaving strange....

[Spatzerl]

We have a flock of chickens, raised together as hatchlings. There are a number of roosters who are "still " getting along more or less. One of them had a leg injury and we kept him in the house for three days. Ever since returning him to the flock( the leg looks like it is improving slowly ), he had been keeping to himself. He is eating and drinking at occasionally will sit on the eggs the hens are laying, but he seems to be bullied by the other roosters and won't come out into the general flock activity.
Did we mess up by having him in the house to heal his leg? Any advice or ideas as to what is going on? I don't realluy think he is feeling poorly, but is there something else I should check for?

 

[GitaBooks]

I'm glad the leg is getting better.

After a while the roosters begin to bully one another, as I saw with mine. I thought some of my roosters were hens because they were so bullied they didn't develop combs and tails. I would separate the roosters and only keep one or two, as they can get very stressed.

Best of luck to you and your flock!

 

[Spatzerl]

I'm glad the leg is getting better.

After a while the roosters begin to bully one another, as I saw with mine. I thought some of my roosters were hens because they were so bullied they didn't develop combs and tails. I would separate the roosters and only keep one or two, as they can get very stressed.

Best of luck to you and your flock!

Wow, really?! That is amazing! Yeah, I figured already we were coming up on the point where culling is necessary. Thanks for your response.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Just a small correction to the conversation...roosters can't be so bullied they don't grow combs and tails (unless the tail feathers are plucked out).

Their hormonal genetics determine how quickly they will mature. That *might* be slowed down a bit in a very stressed bird, if it is stressed to the point of poor health, which could come from bullying, but you can't stop the natural progression of growth with simple bullying. I've seen too many of my lower younger birds get bullied, then grow, to then become the bully.

They can be bullied for being less developed roo's though. And slower developing roo's, being less strong and male hormone fueled, are almost always at the low end of the rooster pecking order, and often below dominant hens as well.

Yes, you definitely messed up his world of pecking order by having to take him into the house and re-introduce him after a couple of days. That is actually a useful technique to re-order the pecking order.

He is the lonely only in the flock now, unsure of his place in it.

And yes, separation between the overly dominant and less dominant, or culling (either eating or re-homing) is the answer as it sounds like you have too many roo's and this one was already getting bullied (leg injury).

LofMc

 

[GitaBooks]

Just a small correction to the conversation...roosters can't be so bullied they don't grow combs and tails (unless the tail feathers are plucked out).

Their hormonal genetics determine how quickly they will mature. That *might* be slowed down a bit in a very stressed bird, if it is stressed to the point of poor health, which could come from bullying, but you can't stop the natural progression of growth with simple bullying. I've seen too many of my lower younger birds get bullied, then grow, to then become the bully.

They can be bullied for being less developed roo's though. And slower developing roo's, being less strong and male hormone fueled, are almost always at the low end of the rooster pecking order, and often below dominant hens as well.

Yes, you definitely messed up his world of pecking order by having to take him into the house and re-introduce him after a couple of days. That is actually a useful technique to re-order the pecking order.

He is the lonely only in the flock now, unsure of his place in it.

And yes, separation between the overly dominant and less dominant, or culling (either eating or re-homing) is the answer as it sounds like you have too many roo's and this one was already getting bullied (leg injury).

LofMc

I'm not an expert, so I could be wrong (don't take this as an argument) but I have studied other animal species and I think I have heard of animals putting off development because they are lower in the hierarchy and would be bullied otherwise. Like I said, I could be wrong, but I have 8 roosters and the lowest in the pecking order looked like hens until we took them away, than they changed to look like roosters really fast!

 

[shortgrass]

Just a small correction to the conversation...roosters can't be so bullied they don't grow combs and tails (unless the tail feathers are plucked out).

Their hormonal genetics determine how quickly they will mature. That *might* be slowed down a bit in a very stressed bird, if it is stressed to the point of poor health, which could come from bullying, but you can't stop the natural progression of growth with simple bullying. I've seen too many of my lower younger birds get bullied, then grow, to then become the bully.

They can be bullied for being less developed roo's though. And slower developing roo's, being less strong and male hormone fueled, are almost always at the low end of the rooster pecking order, and often below dominant hens as well.

Yes, you definitely messed up his world of pecking order by having to take him into the house and re-introduce him after a couple of days. That is actually a useful technique to re-order the pecking order.

He is the lonely only in the flock now, unsure of his place in it.

And yes, separation between the overly dominant and less dominant, or culling (either eating or re-homing) is the answer as it sounds like you have too many roo's and this one was already getting bullied (leg injury).

LofMc

Yep...poor guy is now the lowest on the totem pole.... That is actually how I "cure" the meaner hens; they get "time oyts" and when they go back, they aren't so hot stuff anymore lol

Also agree on the developmental delays in the lower rung cockerels... They might not "pose" as dominant roosters, keeping heads down and tails tucked; some even delay on crowing if they feel that they might be "endangering" themselves by trying to display dominance.... Developmental delays might be caused by nutritional disorders, but even severely stressed birds will still grow combs, waddles, spurs etc...might not have any feathers, from being bullied... Depressed likely, but not changing genetic predisposition....

 

[shortgrass]

Oh but it is a FACT that stress can change certain PLANT species male to female and vice versa.... Hermaphroditism

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Yes, true with plants, but we are talking about poultry and it is important not to extrapolate too much.

I do know from my daughter's Vet Tech studies, that in very rare instances, the alpha hen in a flock without a rooster can take on male characteristics gaining male feathers and even crowing. However, she cannot mate. I seriously doubt that is ever from pure flock dynamics as many people keep female only flocks and never have a hen "swap sides." The science shows it has to do with an aging hen, who is usually dominant having been there the longest, having her one active ovary shut down with age allowing androgens to kick in from the dormant ovary producing the characteristics of male feathers and crowing (similar to an older woman's voice deepening and gaining some chin whiskers).

I have personally not heard or read that roosters can suppress their male growth if in the presence of dominant roosters...I think it is semantics...the roosters don't "choose" to suppress nor does the suppression just kick in because there is a dominant rooster and the younger is not needed for the flock.

I do know sexual maturity can be delayed from lack of food, high stress, and low lighting. What may have happened with the mentioned roosters is that the dominant rooster prevented them from getting enough food or created enough over-stress in their life that it hinders the natural release of hormones...stress can have a powerful impact on hormones. Obviously that doesn't happen a lot as many complain about too many extra roosters growing up when they already have one, or two or more in place.

Typically what is seen is that juvenile roosters develop as expected but lay low in the presence of the dominant rooster, delaying any sexual demonstrations or crowing until removed from the presence of the dominant rooster.

I would love to see the science (as I find it fascinating) that shows the mechanisms at work if sexual maturity is delayed in younger roosters simply because of flock dynamics (not from food/stress/lighting factors in the flock)..I just haven't heard of it yet.


LofMc

 

[GitaBooks]

Thanks for the reply! I guess its a fun mystery.
I just can't be sure which is right, because there are so many weird things in animals. If you ever find out, do let me know. I would love to learn something new about animals.

I want to get a degree in zoology.

 

[shortgrass]

It is so interesting, how the dynamics work in a flock... I have 2 older roosters and a younger one...the first 2 are bantam and my big boy is a red star... I would have thought, by PEOPLE standards, that the younger but bigger roo would eventually dominate. Wow wrong ha-ha... He tried to, but whenever he would get my Cochin just to the point of defeat, here would come the BR hens to the rescue and chase off the Red Star. He's big and beautiful, and a weenie to a rooster a quarter of his size lol He won't pick a fight in front of the hens; half the flick are his hens, but the original hens are the Bantys'... Even though the banty can't even breed the big girls ha-ha!

Poor roosters really do have a hard life Spatzerl, you are probably going to need to watch and possibly separate again if he gets picked on too bad...cull a roo or 2... He might be able to regain his place but he needs to be at full health to do it; he's at a disadvantage and a weaker roo now, it'll take time to re-establish order, if it ever does return to "normal"....