Rooster with issues

[Eggthusiast]

One would think that a male surrounded by 15 lovely chicks would be quite content with his lot in life. But nooooo. Rather than offering a buss on the beak, but this young cockerel prefers to peck the back of every pullet passing by. And these don't appear to be mere love bites. He really nails them, right between the shoulder blades to the point that feathers often fly.

Hi, folks. I'm John in southeastern Ohio. I've popped into the forum occasionally (when time allows) and it looks like a friendly place. It would be a pleasure to get to know you all a little better.

I have some experience with chickens, but I've never encountered such an aggressive roo in the absence of other males. Have I led a sheltered life? Is this behavior normal? Although it wasn't planned (he arrived as the extra chick in an order of 15), we like the idea of a rooster on the homestead. And he's a handsome bird, a black giant whose feathers have a slight green sheen. But we're not going to let him worry the hens to death. We need to curb his behavior. Any suggestions on how to do that? Or, do we need to ship this rooster up the river to the nugget factory?

Thanks.

 

[seriousbill]

Welcome, John. I'm in Southeast Ohio too.

Am I reading you right? This is not being done in an attempt to mate but is just aggressive/dominating behavior? How old is your roo? If he's very young, under 6 mos., I'd say it's a misdirected mating instinct and may cure itself once he gets the hang of it. If he's older, and has been mating the hens for a while, I'd say you may have an aggressive/off-kilter male, and off to the nugget factory he'd go if he were mine. There are plenty of nice roos out there who would look after your hens properly.

 

[americana-chick]

i would say give it some time, although i have not had thisproblem befor one of my roos is only 2 months old and already mating/acting like he is mating my pullets and fully grown hens. he even tries to fight the fully grown roos. i think this is the sign of when he gets older he will be the dominet male. one thing you could try is getting another roo and see what happens... although this could turn into fighting if the male hasnt met another male befor it might teach him how to be a proper roo. or you could seperate him from the hens for a while and maybe he will come to his sences. and welcome! my name is bri!

 

[Eggthusiast]

Thanks for the welcome, Bill and Bri, and for your comments.

You're probably right in attributing the rooster's behavior to youthful inexperience. He is 13 weeks old today. I suspected that might be the cause of the aggression. The vicious extent of the attacks, though, surprises me. On the upside ... Perhaps that signals that he will later be a vigilant protector of the hens.

 

[seriousbill]

Yes, most young males will end up with a few torn- out feathers in their beaks before they get the technique mastered; some of the bigger heavy types even go so far as to bloody a few combs, but they do just fine later on. I'd say you'll probably get to keep the handsome young fella. Best of luck.

 

[Nutty4Chickens]

I'm new at having roos and glad to see that the bloodied combs is normal. I have 5 month old Buffs and 2 of them have fresh comb wounds. The roos are the same age and I guess are still learning how to do their thing!