Rooster rough with hens

[HeyHey]

young Rooster rough with hens he is only 2 months old but he is already bigger than my hens and is tearing them up. what can I do? I raised him by hand and he lands on my shoulder so I won't get rid of him.
How can I make him more gentle?

 

[A.M. Eggs]

A rooster will be a rooster. You can try separating them for a week or so and see if he calms down.

 

[sourland]

He is a teenager driven by raging hormones. Separate him from the hens until he settles down. That will take quite a while. Overly aggressive, clumsy, large roosters can cause serious damage to the sides of the hens. Monitor closely to assure that fly strike does not affect any injured hens.

 

[HeyHey]

are all roosters rough?

 

[HeyHey]

ok thanks that is what I will have to do. any idea how long?

 

[sylviethecochin]

So he's nine weeks old and already being a jerk. I foresee a serious problem in your future.

In the meantime, get yourself a dog crate or a rabbit cage and pen him separately--so that he can see the hens, but not touch them, probably until they're of laying age--three months or so. And I'd start reading the rooster-training threads now, because that flying onto your shoulder means he has no fear of you.

No, not all roosters are rough. But he's a hormonal, unsupervised teenager, and the girls are smaller than him.

 

[Folly's place]

You could separate your cockerel from the pullets for a while, and see if it helps.
Do they have lots of space? How many pullets? This doesn't sound good to me.
The best cockbirds are never too rough, even as idiot adolescents, IMO. If there's plenty of space for the pullets to escape, and they are being injured, he's being a jerk and that's very bad.
Often it's best to have a mixed age flock, so the youngsters learn polite behavior from their elders. This boy is apparently missing that, and it's too bad.
You can't 'make' him gentle!
I would never have a bird, especially a cockerel, anywhere near my face!!! He needs to respect humans; I hope this turns out better than it sounds right now.
Mary

 

[HeyHey]

will he be ok with his sisters

 

[HeyHey]

Thanks Mary
they have plenty of room 1acre for 12 birds, he is gentle with me like a pet, just a jerk when it comes to the ladies. I was so hoping he was a girl.

 

[sylviethecochin]

will he be ok with his sisters

At this point, it's hard to say. If he were mine, I would seriously consider getting rid of him. Roosters that grow up with a flock of girls their own age and no adults generally make very poor flock roosters.

I always advocate this, but if you really want a rooster, why not consider getting a boy from another farm, an older one that's proven not to be human or chicken-aggressive?