Rooster

[ShanasCastle]

told you at that age they waste no time

I would just observe them for a while, she does need to be able to get away from him and be able to eat/drink. Some cockerels can be rough, some are clumsy, so watch for feather wear. This article is tasteful and explains the mating of chickens, it's an interesting read, I've found that there's something new to learn everyday https://the-chicken-chick.com/chicken-mating-how-does-that-work/

Oh I did! And will continue to monitor. But, I don't think Big Bertha will ever allow anything to get between her and food . She's kind of a bully! But a sweet one.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Oh I did! And will continue to monitor. But, I don't think Big Bertha will ever allow anything to get between her and food . She's kind of a bully! But a sweet one.

Being a Rhode Island White, she likely won't take too much guff from other birds and she will be a nice size, likely 6 to 6 1/2lbs. My WPR are a bit bigger at around 7lbs and not quite as feisty, but they do love the feeder.

 

[ShanasCastle]

Being a Rhode Island White, she likely won't take too much guff from other birds and she will be a nice size, likely 6 to 6 1/2lbs. My WPR are a bit bigger at around 7lbs and not quite as feisty, but they do love the feeder.

That's definitely her attitude! She's quirky, fun, and sweet! I lucked out with her bc SHE picked me. I had gone to buy two Wyandotte hens and she greeted me, hopped up on the stair rail, wanting to be petted. I TOLD her, no I'm not here for you, I don't know anything about your breed and I always do my research. She didn't listen, while our backs were turned as we tried to catch my birds, she hopped in my tote. I removed her twice, finally caught ONE Wyandotte after almost a half hour bc the roosters were protecting them. The guy went to put the newly caught hen in my tote and there was Bertha Again! I gave in and brought her home and haven't regretted it one bit! Sometimes you just have to go with the flow

 

[Wyorp Rock]

That's definitely her attitude! She's quirky, fun, and sweet! I lucked out with her bc SHE picked me. I had gone to buy two Wyandotte hens and she greeted me, hopped up on the stair rail, wanting to be petted. I TOLD her, no I'm not here for you, I don't know anything about your breed and I always do my research. She didn't listen, while our backs were turned as we tried to catch my birds, she hopped in my tote. I removed her twice, finally caught ONE Wyandotte after almost a half hour bc the roosters were protecting them. The guy went to put the newly caught hen in my tote and there was Bertha Again! I gave in and brought her home and haven't regretted it one bit! Sometimes you just have to go with the flow

Great story!

 

[SueT]

Yay Bertha!!!!!

 

[Ridgerunner]

told you at that age they waste no time

I would just observe them for a while, she does need to be able to get away from him and be able to eat/drink. Some cockerels can be rough, some are clumsy, so watch for feather wear. This article is tasteful and explains the mating of chickens, it's an interesting read, I've found that there's something new to learn everyday https://the-chicken-chick.com/chicken-mating-how-does-that-work/

That is a good article but I'll give a slightly different version.

Typical mating behavior between mature consenting adults.

The rooster dances for a specific hen. He lowers one wing and sort of circles her. This signals his intent.

The hen squats. This gets her body onto the ground so the rooster’s weight goes into the ground through her entire body and not just her legs. That way she can support a much heavier rooster without hurting her legs.

The rooster hops on and grabs the back of her head. The head grab helps him get in the right position to hit the target and helps him to keep his balance, but its major purpose is to tell the hen to raise her tail out of the way to expose the target. A mating will not be successful if she does not raise her tail and expose the target. The head grab is necessary.

The rooster touches vents and hops off. This may be over in the blink of an eye or it may take a few seconds. But when this is over the rooster’s part is done.

The hen then stands up, fluffs up, and shakes. This fluffy shake gets the sperm into a special container inside the hen near where the egg starts its internal journey through her internal egg making factory.

There are all kinds of variations of this even with adults but it's kind of an idealized version of what should happen and why. With adolescents, well that's often not between consenting adults so it can get more violent. But as long as the female squats to spread out his weight and no blood is drawn it works.

Good luck. It sounds like things are going OK so far.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

That is a good article but I'll give a slightly different version.

Typical mating behavior between mature consenting adults.

The rooster dances for a specific hen. He lowers one wing and sort of circles her. This signals his intent.

The hen squats. This gets her body onto the ground so the rooster’s weight goes into the ground through her entire body and not just her legs. That way she can support a much heavier rooster without hurting her legs.

The rooster hops on and grabs the back of her head. The head grab helps him get in the right position to hit the target and helps him to keep his balance, but its major purpose is to tell the hen to raise her tail out of the way to expose the target. A mating will not be successful if she does not raise her tail and expose the target. The head grab is necessary.

The rooster touches vents and hops off. This may be over in the blink of an eye or it may take a few seconds. But when this is over the rooster’s part is done.

The hen then stands up, fluffs up, and shakes. This fluffy shake gets the sperm into a special container inside the hen near where the egg starts its internal journey through her internal egg making factory.

There are all kinds of variations of this even with adults but it's kind of an idealized version of what should happen and why. With adolescents, well that's often not between consenting adults so it can get more violent. But as long as the female squats to spread out his weight and no blood is drawn it works.

Good luck. It sounds like things are going OK so far.

Nice description @Ridgerunner !

I agree, "consenting adults" makes all the difference in the world

My adult rooster died last year and the ladies loved him, he danced, courted, made nests, etc. I enjoyed watching him interact with them. I have a 5month old cockerel who is just starting to notice the girls, my older gals keep him in line, they are having none of it! He hangs by himself or with the pullets, but if he starts getting a little friendly with the pullets, here comes one of the big gals and gives him a whomping LOL
He has a lot of growing up to do and it's been interesting to watch. I figure it will take him another 3-4months before he is really successful

 

[Ridgerunner]

I once had a cockerel that won over all the older hens by 5 months. I had one that took 11 months to finally win over the last one. Typically that's around 7 month for me but it can vary a lot depending in the personality of the cockerel and the personality of the hens. That's part of why it is so much fun to watch them, nothing is ever the same.

 

[Shadrach]

one of the big gals and gives him a whomping LOL

It make me laugh when I watch cockerels try it on with the older hens.
Some of the larger hens here have just walked off with a pint sized cockerel trying to hang on to a few neck feather.