Rooster is acting "mean" to the hens

[bwek1114]

So we have a Rooster and 10 hens." They are about 17 weeks old, and about 2-3 weeks ago our rooster started crowing.
In the past week we have noticed the rooster chasing and pecking at the girls. They make quite the noise and run as fast as they can to get away from him. Is there a reason he is acting this way all of a sudden. Pecking order? Hormones?
Will he actually hurt them?

Thanks guys!

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

So we have a Rooster and 10 hens." They are about 17 weeks old, and about 2-3 weeks ago our rooster started crowing.
In the past week we have noticed the rooster chasing and pecking at the girls. They make quite the noise and run as fast as they can to get away from him. Is there a reason he is acting this way all of a sudden. Pecking order? Hormones?
Will he actually hurt them?

Thanks guys!

Chickens mate by the rooster grabbing hold of the hen (usually by the feathers of the head) and then hopping on their back to do the deed. It sounds like your young man is starting to try his hand at the process. Once the hens become more receptive to his advances the "chase" bit will settle as they will begin to "squat" to his approach being more accepting of the process. At the moment both sides of the equation are just beginning to try to figure it all out as their respective hormones kick in - often the boys are ahead of the girls on that front which leads to some rather boisterous pursuits. Until/unless you see alarming damage to your hens don't worry about it.

Mating *can* result in damage in the form of feather loss on the hens back. This is caused by the treading of the male while he is mounted on her as his nails can dig in and tear out feathers/damage the underlying skin. It doesn't always happen, but if it does you can use "hen saddles" to offer the girls a layer of protection against their zealous lover.