Rooster is hurting hens -- advice?

[tuesdaylove]

Yesterday I brought home four pullets to live with my formerly solo rooster, named Jamal. Jamal is almost five months old, and all of the pullets are four months old, and they are mostly of similar size, minus the Ameraucana who is a good bit smaller than Jamal.

I expected him to immediately start mating the pullets like crazy. He's a teenager, obviously full of raging hormones, I get it. He seems to be taking it a little too far, and the pullets are terrified and injured.

I brought them home yesterday afternoon. They got on the roosting poles and stayed there, with Jamal pacing the ground underneath them. Every time they tried to jump down, he'd immediately jump on them and they'd scream bloody murder. I left them alone and figured he'd work it out of his system or the pullets would get used to him.

They co-existed through the night and shared the roosts. This morning, I went out to see them before I went to work. The four pullets were still on the roosts, and Jamal was pacing the ground underneath them. I saw no new poop anywhere else in the coop and the girls' crops were empty, which I thought was odd since this was around 11AM and they should have eaten by then.

After I got home from work I went out again. The pullets were still on the pole and they still had not eaten. Jamal was still pacing beneath them. I put them on the ground myself and stood by so that maybe they'd eat and I would keep Jamal at bay if needed. He jumped back on them, one after the other, and I could barely kick him away long enough to help anyone. He's made nearly bald spots on all four, their combs are bleeding, two of them have cuts on their feet from him mounting them, and one of them has what looked like a gash on her back, but she wouldn't let me see it.

I've been raising chickens for six years and have had roosters the entire time, and I've never seen anything like this. I know roosters get excited over new girls, and I know teenage roosters are a little excessive, but they're so scared of him they're not eating. They were already skin and bones when I got them yesterday and it's serious enough that they could die if they can't gain some weight.

I removed Jamal and put him in a dog crate nearby. As soon as I did, they started eating like crazy.

I know this is only day two of this new flock, but so far it's going horribly. What am I supposed to do here? Let them sort it out? Or will the hens starve/continue to get hurt? I do not believe in killing my own roosters, so am I looking at re-homing as an option?

 

[keesmom]

He needs to stay in jail for a while. At the very least until the pullets mature.

 

[Tiana's chickens]

It's a bit soon to be introducing them. Just for next time, it's best for new chooks to be quarantined for a couple weeks
What I'd do now in your situation is to have them in the same coop so they can all see eachother but have something separating them so the rooster can't hurt them and they can get used to seeing him. I'd also consider removing his Spurs if they are doing damage. I'm not sure what else can be done, maybe he just needs a few more weeks to mature and less hormones

 

[Abriana]

I would keep him in the cage for a while and Let the hens mature and gain weight.

 

[Kessel23]

Yesterday I brought home four pullets to live with my formerly solo rooster, named Jamal. Jamal is almost five months old, and all of the pullets are four months old, and they are mostly of similar size, minus the Ameraucana who is a good bit smaller than Jamal.

I expected him to immediately start mating the pullets like crazy. He's a teenager, obviously full of raging hormones, I get it. He seems to be taking it a little too far, and the pullets are terrified and injured.

I brought them home yesterday afternoon. They got on the roosting poles and stayed there, with Jamal pacing the ground underneath them. Every time they tried to jump down, he'd immediately jump on them and they'd scream bloody murder. I left them alone and figured he'd work it out of his system or the pullets would get used to him.

They co-existed through the night and shared the roosts. This morning, I went out to see them before I went to work. The four pullets were still on the roosts, and Jamal was pacing the ground underneath them. I saw no new poop anywhere else in the coop and the girls' crops were empty, which I thought was odd since this was around 11AM and they should have eaten by then.

After I got home from work I went out again. The pullets were still on the pole and they still had not eaten. Jamal was still pacing beneath them. I put them on the ground myself and stood by so that maybe they'd eat and I would keep Jamal at bay if needed. He jumped back on them, one after the other, and I could barely kick him away long enough to help anyone. He's made nearly bald spots on all four, their combs are bleeding, two of them have cuts on their feet from him mounting them, and one of them has what looked like a gash on her back, but she wouldn't let me see it.

I've been raising chickens for six years and have had roosters the entire time, and I've never seen anything like this. I know roosters get excited over new girls, and I know teenage roosters are a little excessive, but they're so scared of him they're not eating. They were already skin and bones when I got them yesterday and it's serious enough that they could die if they can't gain some weight.

I removed Jamal and put him in a dog crate nearby. As soon as I did, they started eating like crazy.

I know this is only day two of this new flock, but so far it's going horribly. What am I supposed to do here? Let them sort it out? Or will the hens starve/continue to get hurt? I do not believe in killing my own roosters, so am I looking at re-homing as an option?

Young roosters are aggressive when mating, young hens do not want to mate. Wait till the hens are laying and they should squat for Jamal.

 

[lazy gardener]

Your cockerel needs to be pulled out of that coop. Tell me a little bit more about him. It sounds like he was the only chicken you had? If this is so, he missed the most important kindergarten lesson of all: "how to play well with others." NO matter the reason for his behavior, it is unacceptable. A cockerel should not be allowed to terrorize young pullets.

 

[lazy gardener]

How many roosters do you have? How many pullets/hens? While you say you don't believe in killing roosters, it is not humane to subject a pullet or hen to rooster brutality.

 

[tuesdaylove]

It's a bit soon to be introducing them. Just for next time, it's best for new chooks to be quarantined for a couple weeks
What I'd do now in your situation is to have them in the same coop so they can all see eachother but have something separating them so the rooster can't hurt them and they can get used to seeing him. I'd also consider removing his Spurs if they are doing damage. I'm not sure what else can be done, maybe he just needs a few more weeks to mature and less hormones

I rushed them into the coop with him because he was starting to turn human-aggressive from being alone. He was born into my bantam flock, and he is a full-sized bird. He very quickly got big enough that when he mated the bantam hens, he was crushing them, so he had to be removed. That was about three weeks ago. He lived alone during that time and he was very quickly getting aggressive. I had this happen with another rooster in the past and I believe, from my experience, that not having hens around makes a rooster meaner. But I don't know, maybe that's not true for everyone.

He does not have spurs yet. I'll be removing him during the day and put him in a dog crate beside the coop.

Your cockerel needs to be pulled out of that coop. Tell me a little bit more about him. It sounds like he was the only chicken you had? If this is so, he missed the most important kindergarten lesson of all: "how to play well with others." NO matter the reason for his behavior, it is unacceptable. A cockerel should not be allowed to terrorize young pullets.

How many roosters do you have? How many pullets/hens? While you say you don't believe in killing roosters, it is not humane to subject a pullet or hen to rooster brutality.

So it started when I had a flock of three (and I have multiple flocks, they are all completely separate from each other). I had a Cochin bantam rooster living with two large production red hens. There was a horrible accident where a predator broke in and killed all three. I was so upset, I decided I'd try incubating an egg I'd had from one of those hens and just see if it hatched. I thought it'd be nice to let those birds live on through a chick. I stuck the egg under one of my broody bantam hens, and she hatched it. This chick became the big rooster I'm dealing with now.

These are not my only chickens. As of right now, I have three flocks, in three different pens. This is because free-ranging is not an option where I live.

1. Jamal and the four new pullets, all large birds
2. One bantam rooster and one bantam hen
3. One bantam rooster and three bantam hens -- this is the group Jamal grew up in, but he was the only chick growing up at that time, and by the time he was two months he was as big as the adult bantams

 

[christwodog]

I agree, keep him separate from the girls. I have learned from others' posts, that the hen to rooster ratio is 10 hens per 1 rooster or close to that. Even when they reach laying/mating age, I don't think four hens is enough for him, they will most likely get overmated. I had five hens to one rooster and had to eventually separate them. The hens became very fearful of him, to the point of hiding in nest boxes and not eating, like your hens.

 

[Kessel23]

I agree, keep him separate from the girls. I have learned from others' posts, that the hen to rooster ratio is 10 hens per 1 rooster or close to that. Even when they reach laying/mating age, I don't think four hens is enough for him, they will most likely get overmated. I had five hens to one rooster and had to eventually separate them. The hens became very fearful of him, to the point of hiding in nest boxes and not eating, like your hens.

Some roosters are more aggressive than others, they tone it down as they age. I have a 4 year old RIR rooster who won't mount a hen unless she squats for him, he usually dances around for a bit then the hen squats and he mounts. He also won't mate with young hens. This is the attitude I look for in roosters.