Ok this is a continuation from my other post on "What Breed / Gender is this?" So about 16 weeks ago I hatched 6 beautiful chicks. My sister in-law took 3 and I kept the other 3 to add to the rest of my flock of 3. She ended up with a roo and she brought him back today to live with us because her husband was not very enthusiastic about having a roo. When she brought him over we let him out of his travel case and let him roam about. Of course he went right over to the pen with my girls in it. They all seemed to be getting along so I let him in (which was stupid), then him and one of my pullets (still on the fence of being a roo or pullet) starting staring each other down and hopped up to fight. We seperated them and put him in another pen by himself. All the other girls seem ok with him. Can a hen jump up and fight like that or is it strictly a roo thing? how long will it take for them to get used to each other or will they never get a long? i will really like to keep both of them the pullet in question is a beautiful black orph and the roo is a splash orph roo both about 16 weeks old.
One of our hens(old english gamebird -positive that it is a hen - lays eggs) did the rooster fluffed feathers and hopping up in the air with a sebright rooster. We were trying to integrate the rooster in with our older birds thought that they would keep him in line. The old english hen looked like she would kill him. Anyway we found a new home for the rooster today. He will be living with 3 standard size hens with some free ranging -no other roosters.
At that age (16 weeks) both sexes can figth, mostly if they don't know each other.Even some pullets are higher in the pecking order (than cockerels). When they get older, cockerels tend to be more dominants, but still some pullets can figth back. Around 20 to 24 months when they are mature, the roo is the boss of the pen, been sometimes very tyranical. Some of them turn to a placid gentleman "pater familias". Some others don't. I've had all kind.
