Rooster bullying the girls

[theoldchick]

Roos like that are not what you want to have. That kind of behavior may be genetic so you don't want to perpetuate that kind of personality. You need to find a better rooster and the mean one can either become your dinner or someone else's dinner. Remember, a backyard family flock is a recent occurrence. In the past, a backyard flock consisted of hens who laid eggs until they were to old and then they became dinner. The cockerels were never considered as pets were raised to be eaten by a certain age. Temperament did not matter-a fast growing meaty bird is what was desired and bred for. In feral flocks the mean roosters are the ones that breed and protect the hens. Thus the trait for protective (mean) roosters is passed along. And we still see this dominant behavior in back yard flocks.

 

[Stillplaysindirt]

Roos like that are not what you want to have. That kind of behavior may be genetic so you don't want to perpetuate that kind of personality. You need to find a better rooster and the mean one can either become your dinner or someone else's dinner. Remember, a backyard family flock is a recent occurrence. In the past, a backyard flock consisted of hens who laid eggs until they were to old and then they became dinner. The cockerels were never considered as pets were raised to be eaten by a certain age. Temperament did not matter-a fast growing meaty bird is what was desired and bred for. In feral flocks the mean roosters are the ones that breed and protect the hens. Thus the trait for protective (mean) roosters is passed along. And we still see this dominant behavior in back yard flocks.

you said it true and straight. facts are facts. there are nice roos out there.

 

[MeowthLover_ThatsRight]

what i used to do was just release a rooster that we thought too agressive. my roo fernando's dad (he got eaten by a fox) almost killed fernando once. we just released him and he lived outside, no contact with fernando. if he gets eaten, he gets eaten. he deseves it for putting an innocent hen through such torture. it's kinda mean, but still.

 

[abpack]

Remove this cockerel from your flock either by sending him to freezer camp or giving him to someone else to put in their freezer. Your flock will be much more peaceful.
Then give your two sub-flocks several months to fully integrate.
If you want a rooster, I would search for an actual rooster (over one year old) that has proven himself to be a good protector, non-human aggressive and good to the ladies. Do not take in someone else's "oops" cockerel unless he's very nearly one year old and has had time to mature and show his true colors.
Good luck.

may I ask your advice on where to find cockerels that are "good" roosters? is this the best site for that? do people want to re-home the good ones? TIA

 

[DobieLover]

may I ask your advice on where to find cockerels that are "good" roosters? is this the best site for that? do people want to re-home the good ones? TIA

People rehome good ones ALL THE TIME.
Join some local Facebook Poultry Groups and make posts reading:
"Looking for a non-human aggressive flock rooster within "X" miles of (insert your zip code here). Show me what you've got" and you will be flooded with replies. You can then pick and choose the ones that are near you and ask questions about the bird before going to see him.
I'd be looking for a FLOCK raised boy that has a good senior rooster and older hens that have taught him some manners. I wouldn't get one younger than 10 months old. The older they are, the more likely they have learned a lot and have shown their true colors.

 

[Folly's place]

@DobieLover has good advice, it's one way to get a nice guy for your flock. I'm too concerned about biosecurity/ introducing a disease carrier into my flock to use this plan. What we do here is raise straight run chicks in our mixed age and sex flock, and keep a couple of likely cockerels out of the group. This way, only safe chicks arrive, they are raised by us, and adult hens and roosters, and we can evaluate their behaviors as they grow.
Either way, nasty roosters need to feed some family!
And it's more humane to kill one cleanly, not have it alone out there for the wildlife!
Mary