Rooster being mean to hens

[chicksducks1]

I'm thinking that although I have grown fond of him it might be the best choice for my girls to get rid of him. However I'd like to have a rooster in with my girls for the possibility of fertile eggs and the protection he adds. How would you guys recommend doing this? Is there any way to tell if he's going to treat my ladies better?

 

[Amiti]

I am really curious about this as well. I have a rooster that idk what to do with. He feeds his hens and protects them. But he is clumsy, injuring hens during breeding. He is 10 months old, has 9 hens and still manages to overbreed a couple girls.

AND he has attacked my daughter (grown) and me. I grabbed him and hung him upside down by his feet, smacked him on the head and threw him in a cage ...

Now what do I do with him?

 

[Folly's place]

There are many wonderful roosters out there, so keeping a jerk doesn't make sense. If he's willing to attack the giants who bring food every day, and /or injure his hens, he's not a smart sensible flock protector, he's an idiot. Either move him on with full disclosure, or get out the crockpot. He's also not watching out for actual predators when he's stalking you, and doesn't have the kind of genetics that should breed on. Mary

 

[bobbi-j]

I am really curious about this as well. I have a rooster that idk what to do with. He feeds his hens and protects them. But he is clumsy, injuring hens during breeding. He is 10 months old, has 9 hens and still manages to overbreed a couple girls.

AND he has attacked my daughter (grown) and me. I grabbed him and hung him upside down by his feet, smacked him on the head and threw him in a cage ...

Now what do I do with him?

Invite him to dinner...

 

[Churchlady]

I'm having a similar issue with a roo, except he's only 2 months old. Will he outgrow the meanness or is he just a jerk? He always goes for the food first and pushes the girls out of the way... Do they grow into being a protector/caretaker, or do they usually just get worse?

 

[aart]

I'm having a similar issue with a roo, except he's only 2 months old. Will he outgrow the meanness or is he just a jerk

Ehhh...that's pretty typical at that age, and not necessarily an indicator of future demeanor.

 

[Mrs. K]

Churchlady, is he just being raised with hatch mates, or is he in a multigenerational flock? If it is a multigenerational flock, he might straighten up. If he is with flock mates, he is probably going to become much worse. Older adult birds, tend to thump manners into a younger cockerel, without their presence, he is the biggest bird in the group, and often becomes a bully.

Any rooster that is not lending peace to the flock, or to me or to anyone else that comes to the coop is culled. Contact the feed store, the county extension agent, the local poultry club and ask for nice roosters that have been raised in a multigenerational flock. Do not get a rooster until your pullets are laying. You want the rooster that was so darn nice, they didn't need him, but too nice to cull.

A good rooster in the flock is fun to have. A jerk is a jerk and can ruin the whole experience.

Mrs K

 

[Churchlady]

Churchlady, is he just being raised with hatch mates, or is he in a multigenerational flock? If it is a multigenerational flock, he might straighten up. If he is with flock mates, he is probably going to become much worse. Older adult birds, tend to thump manners into a younger cockerel, without their presence, he is the biggest bird in the group, and often becomes a bully.

Any rooster that is not lending peace to the flock, or to me or to anyone else that comes to the coop is culled. Contact the feed store, the county extension agent, the local poultry club and ask for nice roosters that have been raised in a multigenerational flock. Do not get a rooster until your pullets are laying. You want the rooster that was so darn nice, they didn't need him, but too nice to cull.

A good rooster in the flock is fun to have. A jerk is a jerk and can ruin the whole experience.

Mrs K

Thanks for responding. He was an "oops" from MPC- ordered 9 hens, got 8 hens 1 roo. And he's being mean to the girls that were in the same brood. Next weekend going to start prepping to combine my new brood with 4 girls very docile and low on the pecking order girls from my older flock. Should I try and keep him and see if the older girls whip him into shape once the flocks are blended in a few weeks? I spend a lot of time working on his manners (holding him, eating out of my hand, letting the girls see all this), and he's fine with me, he's just not very rooster-y. The other leghorn, who did wind up to be a hen, adores him, and I'm not sure if I have the heart to break them up.

 

[Mrs. K]

Churchlady - roosters are not like puppies, that if you cuddle them, they will be nice. When you feed the rooster, when you hold him, you are taking the subservient position. The rooster has no fear of you. In chicken society, either a chicken is afraid of another chicken or braver than another chicken. The lower chicken backs away.

Many people think that rooster chicks are friendly, but what they are telling you is that they are not afraid, and will try and dominate you. You want your rooster to naturally stay about 6 feet away from you. You should not be able to catch and hold him. He should not look at you, and he should move out of your way, or he is more than likely going to try and put you in your place, which is below him.

Ridgerunner has a rooster lesson, that is pretty good advice. See if you can find it, or cull this boy. I think he is going to be more trouble. If you have small children, I would recommend culling him.

I would combine the flocks as soon as possible. The old girls will more than likely thump on him. It might work, and it might not, roosters are a crap shoot.

Chickens really do not have human emotions, and if you break up a pair, within days they are over it, to the point if you re admitted the bird, they would be attacked by the flock.

I do not see this working out,

Mrs K

 

[Churchlady]

Actually, I don't enjoy holding him, and it's certainly not "cuddling" it's punishment for being too "cheeky". I was following advice from other chicken owners, who have advised that dominating the roo in this way in front of his girls lets him know that I'm the top of the heap, not him; also noting that roos do not feed each other, therefore me hand feeding him reinforces the fact that I am not, in fact a roo. They're livestock and egg producers, not pets (no offense to anyone who does keep chix as pets). I'm just trying to keep the flock healthy and happy.
The reason why I was worried about the other leghorn is because I always buy in pairs - I've observed that "like" chickens tend to be in similar places in the pecking order and it's easier for me to keep track. I had a pair of Columbian Wyandottes who seemed unusually close - they followed each other everywhere. One died and the other one seemed lost without her for at least a month or two (you'd honestly have to have seen it to believe it). She then died with no warning - no illness, not acting sick, nothing. Just walked in the coop one morning and there she was. So, that's my concern about "breaking them up". I don't need a despondent chicken again - you don't get eggs when they're stressed.
I'll be following the "side by side" approach with the new girls and old girls in 2 weeks - again, not trying to stress the girls too much by throwing them both outside and with other birds at the same time. Next week is switching the older girls to the run, the little girls in the coop and once they've figured things out in there, we'll be using some cow fence between coop and run till they get used to each other. Then we'll try combining. I have no desire to lose any of my girls to fights, thus the caution. Now, I'm just trying to decide whether to cull him before I combine and just keep it simple, or whether I keep an eye on them and hope the old ladies teach him a thing or two.
And no, I'm old enough to have grands, but don't have any littles to worry about.