Late yesterday evening, I was outside and heard a horrible sound comming from the direction of the hen yard. I walked over to where the hen yard and hen house is to see if I could tell what was going on. In a few seconds, one of my Buff roosters bolted out of the hen house like a bullet fired from a gun. Right behind him was the #1 Buff rooster. I didn't think too much about what I saw. I just laid it off to a squabble over peck order. Just before I lost enough intrest to make me turn and walk away, I saw something that I had never seen before. The #1 rooster caught the other one, grabbed him by his neck feathers, jumped up on his back, rode him to the ground, and much to my chagrin and disgust, proceded to try to "breed" him!! This went on for a good 10 to 15 minutes. To my knowledge, the #1 rooster never did hit his "intended target," but it certainly wasn't for a lack of trying!! This afternoon, the #1 rooster again attempted to perpetrate the same "rump ranger boogie" on the same rooster as the evening before. This time, it appeared (again to my chagrin and disgust) that the #1 rooster may very well have found his mark! Afterward, the #1 rooster went on about his business of "taking care of" his harem of hens. Has anyone else seen or had this problem with their roosters?? Do I have a gay/bisexual rooster??? Could it be that the rooster being chased is a morphodite??? Or, is this normal activity that I just had never been blessed enough to witness before??? Any help or information would be greatly appreciated. Robert
i assume its possible. with people it is genetic somewhat, just like being right handed/left handed. i guess it would be the same with chickens. have you ever seen him mount a pullet/hen? if he is a bisexual rooster i dont think you have anything to worry about since he wont get depressed and lonely that the other rooster wont let him "ride". if you have a gay rooster - i dont know what to tell you. hopefully somebody else will step in
My top rooster, when sorting out the pecking order with my other 2 roo's, pulled the same thing on the lower order roo's a couple of times. The effect was that the other 2 roo's were subdued afterward, seemed almost to be humiliated. Seemed like a way to say "I'm top roo, and you guys are my B****s"
Rosy, I forgot to mention it, but I have seen him mount the hens. But, that was what I was alluding to when I said that he went on about his business of "taking care of" his harem of hens. Rooster-red, that is probably what is going on. The rooster being chased is without a doubt on the very bottom of the peck order. I guess what I need to do is to get rid of some of my Buff roos! That might take care of the problem. Thanks for the responses! BTW..... 2mnypets...... That was exactly how I responded to what I saw!!!!!!!
Even if it isn't a dominance thing...most young domestic animals would be considered bi-sexual if you want to use human terms. Their hormones are in over-drive and just want to mount and shag anything that moves. Young bulls and boars ride each other...cockerels are no different. I have a young cockerel that will try to mate my forearm...
It's asserting dominance and/or raging hormones, nothing more. A Barred Rock cockerel I used to own always danced for Suede, who has as much a look of horror on his face as a chicken can muster, LOL.