Rooster in the Coop!

[Gene Kanten]

I had never planned on having a rooster but bought some new chicks this Spring Blue Lace Wydonate and one seem to be aggressive from the very beginning. I had a suspicion it was a rooster with no other identifiable signs.
Well turns out yep a Rooster. Now I do love his Cock-a-doo-a-doo but not liking how aggressive he is with my hens. I have one older hen that has chosen to hide in the nesting box to avoid his mating. I am concern thos is not good for her because of lack of exercise and getting enough food and water. Does anyone have advice?

 

[Quail_Kid]

 

[Mrs. K]

A couple of questions: how many birds do you have, and what are their ages? How much space do you have?

Always solve for peace in the flock. If he is getting along fine with the rest of the flock and with people. Remove the victim. If he is terrorizing the flock and people, remove him. Always solve for peace in the flock.

Mrs K

 

[Sara Ranch]

Sounds like the boy chicken is in puberty. In general, it will last from age 4 months to age 12 months. Then the boy becomes a "rooster" officially and he mellows out.

For the most part, all of my boys that were with a flock while going through puberty, couldn't get enough mating and they weren't gentle or considerate when mating.

Make sure the boy/girl ratio is ok.

Consider a safe space for the girls to hide/avoid the boy.

Consider penning off a space for the boy for the next few months.

 

[Gene Kanten]

I have 9 hens, 4 are probably 4 years old the other are new when I got the baby rooster. My chickens have a 5 star coop lots of room so not a crowding issue.

 

[BarredRockMom]

I agree with part of the "solve for peace in the flock" advice. If one of the older hens is traumatized enough to hang out in a nest box to avoid him & his antics, I'd say he has to go. She was there first. Since she's the victim, I wouldn't cull her, hence the reason why I only agree with part of the advice from an earlier poster.

Besides, if you want a roo, there are plenty of nice ones out there.

 

[Mrs. K]

Well before you try culling, one more idea. I am not sure where outside is of the coop. But you might try pulling your rooster, and then set up quite a bit of clutter either in the run (which I don't think I see) or near the house entrance. Use pallets up on cement blocks or an old table. Allows chickens to get under in the shade or up on top. Lean some pallets up against a wall. Create an outdoor shelter, just a wind block. You can use old ladders or chairs, really anything that allows birds to get out of sight of each other.

For chickens, out of sight, is mostly out of mind. Clutter increases the areas that birds can use in a run, but is much more interesting to birds in confinement. And allows birds that do not get along, to get away from each other. Set up two feed bowls, but set them up so that a bird eating at one station cannot see birds eating at another station. It does not have to be elaborate, just a cardboard box on it's side, a small piece of tin or cardboard.

I am thinking that the only place like that is your nest box in your current set up.

So set up an obstacle course, and confine your rooster for a few days, so that your hens can explore and get comfortable with it. Then add back your rooster.

It might really help!

Mrs K

 

[Ridgerunner]

Since you got him as a chick this spring, he is a cockerel, not a rooster. There is often a lot of difference in how an immature cockerel behaves compared to a mature rooster. The problem sometimes is getting to that mature state. It is often harder on you to watch than it is the chickens, but it can get pretty physical.

Why do you want a rooster? How does he fit in with why you want chickens? The only reason you need a rooster is if you want fertile eggs. Everything else is just personal preference. Preference can be a strong motivator but it boils down to being a choice. I generally recommend you keep as few males as you can and still meet your goals. It's your goals that are important, not mine when it comes to your flock. I don't know if the right number for you is one or zero.

You had a flock of mature hens that were used to doing things their way. Now they have a cockerel whose hormones are running wild, telling him he needs to be the flock master. Is that hen in the nest the dominant hen? Often the dominant hen is the one that has the most trouble giving up power. I've had that happen before. Until the cockerel reached a certain level of maturity the dominant hen kept him in line. Then he matured enough to take over. For two days there as a lot of fighting between them, well him mostly chasing and her mostly running away, but he got in some pretty strong licks. It was hard to watch for two days but they worked it out. I have a 8' x 12' coop, a 12' x 32' main run, and about 45' x 60' inside electric netting, plenty of room. And there was one cockerel and 8 hens. Plenty of room. The less room you have the rougher it can be. Mine used a lot of my room to keep the level of violence down.

If you decide you don't want to keep him, get rid of him now. Your flock should go back to being peaceful. If you decide to keep him you can either leave them as they are now and they should eventually work it out when he transitions from being a cockerel to being a rooster. Or you can isolate him for a while and try to put him with the flock later. I'd probably give him a month in isolation before I tried again.

A lot of people make rash decisions when a cockerel is going through puberty, not realizing he and the girls will probably mellow out when he grows up, but it can be hard for you to watch them go through that phase. Since it can be violent it is possible one can really be injured. If you don't really want him, why go through that?

 

[Gene Kanten]

The hen he is picking on is my most mellow, laid back. Maybe he senses weak. I love the thought of having a rooster purely for my pleasure.
Maybe the pinning a hen down, pecking the back of neck and chasing them is just want they do going thru puberty (darn Male hormones).
The hens are now squawking which I am sure for breeding to occur. It's funny how he leaves the 3 hens I got with him alone. So to some I may be a little naive but trying to be a good chicken rancher as possible!

 

[centrarchid]

Could you subdivide coop so he has his own little area? Keep him there through spring to allow additional maturation.