Rooster mating with pullets

[maryclark17]

I have year old rooster, he is trying to mate with our two month old pullets. He doesn't seem to be hurting them. Should we let him go and do it or separate him until they are older?

 

[RoostersCrow HensDeliver!]

Separate him immediately, he can seriously injure the little pullets. Don't try to introduce them again until the pullets are at the point of lay.

 

[chooks4life]

If he's never seen young ones before, or never any that look like those, then just separate until they're older. 2 months is way too young, sooner or later one'll get a broken bone. Or he may decide they're male for not willingly mating with him, and become aggressive to them. I've seen it go that way.

If however he is familiar with young chickens I'd cull him. A rooster who responds sexually to underage chickens is aberrant and will cause a lot of damage, and is fairly likely to breed that trait on. But they can get confused when suddenly introduced to new breeds or if they've never seen babies, so depending on his history you've either got a confused boy or a faulty one. Best wishes.

 

[maryclark17]

How long will that be?

 

[RoostersCrow HensDeliver!]

The pullets should be willing to mate once they reach the point of lay, about 16-18 weeks old. I wouldn't put him in with them any sooner than that.

 

[maryclark17]

We've never had babies around him..Just another rooster we got rid of about three months ago. And hes a very friendly rooster so were not killing him.

 

[chooks4life]

If he's never seen babies he's likely to make a mistake like trying to mate with them. I would only recommend culling him if he's persistent at that after you're sure he knows what an adult hen is.