San Diego Chicken meetup and Chat thread

[All-American-Chick]

wow that link is so cool.thank you for posting it.
kkh they have saint bernards on there too for ya.


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[dedicateddourly]

Hi Folks,

I guess I'm just looking for a bit of reassurance. My Wheaten Ameraucana cockerel Wickham just turned 20 weeks and started crowing last week. Yesterday, his behavior really started to change. Tried mounting one of the pullets for the first time, and she didn't take kindly to it. Some feathers lost as she fought him off. I just don't like having the girls upset. Wickham hasn't challenged the humans (yet) and has always been afraid of us. I'm hoping these are just teenaged hormones. If so, how long can I expect it to last? I've read that when cockerels first start to mate, they can be rough, but will get better at it with time. So this is just normal, right? Until I figure it out, I'm trying to establish my alpha roo status every time I visit them.

Thanks for any insights. Here's the little bugger:

 

[dfdesigns]

Renee - very interesting timing on your question! We just (mostly) finished out expanded coop run yesterday, so I finally have all of my chickens together. There are two Ameraucana cockerels in there; both are 26 weeks and *just* started crowing. They have been raised with two Am pullets and an EE pullet all of the same age. I've never seen them try to mount any of them.

Yesterday one of those Am boys went a little hormonal, and tried to mount just about all the hens. (None of them wanted anything to do with him, except for one of my "hussy" hens.) There was a lot more crowing going on, too... I hope everybody settles down fairly quickly.

I can only keep one of my Am roos... I have a blue and a black. The black is very pretty, and is definitely the dominant boy. The blue is still growing into himself. If anybody needs a Ameraucana roo (these came from Phage), let me know.

 

[dedicateddourly]

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Hi Dana,

That's so funny, as I too have 2 boys, a black and a blue. And 2 Am pullets. My EE is a year older and terrorizes all of them

How do your boys act towards you? Mine were broody-raised which I regret because they've always been skittish with us, and moreso now, since I've started trying to catch the boys and carry them around. At least the girls are coming around. One took a mealworm from my fingers yesterday.

My black is also the dominant one. If I had to re-home one, I'd probably rehome him because I really love the blue coloring of the other one.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

Unfortunately, chicken mating isn't very "nice". The males will chase the females around, grab head and neck feathers, pull them out, ride around on top while the female is trying to get away, chase the girls for no reason and making them squawk etc... as long as they aren't relentlessly tormenting, chasing, or drawing blood I wouldn't interfere. ALSO how many roosters you have per hens will determine how much they get "beat up"; more roosters= more beating up.

Renee, from everything you posted it doesn't sound out of the ordinary. While they are young and hormonal (and also working their way to the top of the dominance ladder) it is pretty much always like this. They may become better as they get older, BUT NOT ALWAYS. Give him a couple months (or more) to see if he mellows out if you want to keep him. Some roosters are born "nicer" than others.

AND generally, how rough they are with the other chickens is NOT an indicator of how they will act towards humans. "Unfriendly" cockerels are better in my opinion because they STAY afraid of humans, whereas ones that were coddled a lot as babies tend to NOT be afraid and have a tendency to want to challenge you more. The first signs of challenging are; not backing away when you walk close, staring you down, dropping one wing, dancing, walking purposefully TOWARDS you, etc. Not putting them in their place when those warning signs happen can lead to MORE challenging and eventually attacking/ flogging.

Hope this helps you guys!

 

[SunnyCalifornia]

I had a problem with two cockerels ganging up on my hens. One would jump her from behind, and the other would pin her head down. Needless to say, they got separated, and rehomed. I hear they are both doing well though. Now I have my tiny Old English Bantam rooster in with my 8 layers. Its a good ratio, and they are SO much bigger than him. He dances and tries to court them, but pretty much gets ignored. He's doing great with them though. I'm pretty sure I don't have any fertile eggs, but I do have 9 happy chickens.

 

[Knock Kneed Hen]

I was worried about my NN hen when my NN cockerel starting mating because the hen has no feathers on her neck and I was worried that he was being too hard on her. His technique has since improved so he gets to stay.

 

[dfdesigns]

Sunny, do you have a photo of your flock? I'm not familiar with the OE Bantams, and I'd love to see how he compares with your girls...

Those Naked Necks crack me up! I have an EE here who is starting to look like a NN... can't wait until she starts to refeather.

 

[dedicateddourly]

Thanks for all your input, everyone. I only have 6 chickens, but 2 are boys. So far, the beta is completely submissive, not even crowing yet. I'm not worried about him beating up on the girls yet.

And Cari, I am unfortunately acquainted with the ways of challenging roos. I had an RIR cockerel in my first batch who was coddled from birth, and definitely challenged us. He was rehomed.

 

[Phage]

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These should be nice.
They came from someone who is very serious about showing and improving her birds.