Scared Rooster

[samsnonna2048]

I have an Easter Egger Roo whom I am trying to integrated with my flock of 12 hens. The Roo is 16 weeks old, no crowing no trying to mate. In fact he is a scaredy cat. He hides in the corner of the coop and stays far away from the hens. Every time a hen gets near him he runs. I let them free range for a few hours together every day and he's fine when outside but will not go back into the coop at dusk like the hens. We have to wait until dark to put him back in the coop. He usually roosts on a hay bale outside the coop. What gives with this scaredy cat? He's been with the hens for about 2 weeks. There doesn't seem to be any blood shed but I've seen the hens chasing him. What can I do to help him transition? I have no where else to put him except the soup pot and don't want to do that. He was raised by one of our broody hens and I've become attached to him.

 

[Wezdin]

Wait until his hormones kick in, then he will start acting like a normal rooster. The size difference can be misleading but right now he is a toddler brain in the body of a giant.

 

[bobbi-j]

Your “rooster” is still a baby. Until he’s a year old, he is called a cockerel (use of proper terminology helps us understand better what’s going on.) If your hens are adults (over a year old), what you basically have is a juvenile boy locked up with a bunch of middle aged women. They’re not going to tolerate any nonsense from him, and will teach him some manners. Let them be, and eventually it will turn around as he matures.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You do not have a rooster. You have an immature cockerel. Once he matures to the point that he tries to take over as flock master you will see a huge change in behavior. You may be back with another thread on how to control him or manage your flock. Until he matures to that point if he invades the personal space of a mature hen he is likely to get pecked.

He's smart enough to try to avoid them as much as he can. When out free ranging he can get away and stay away. I don't how how big your coop is but he doesn't want to be locked in that tight space with them. When something like that happens with mine I keep tossing them in every night and locking them in the coop until they get the message that is where they need to sleep. But my coop is pretty big with lots of safe places for them to sleep that is not on the main roosts with the hens. I'm down there at daybreak every morning until I'm confident they are going to be OK. That's usually one or two mornings.

When will he mature to the point that he wants to take over? I do not know. I had one do that at 5 months, I had one not do that until 11 months. Most of mine start around 4 to 5 months and manage to take over around 7 months but that can really vary. Each one is an individual. The hens have a lot to say about this too. Some flocks of hens are ready to accept one as flock master, but occasionally you get a dominant hen that is not ready to give up her spot as top chicken. I think that had a lot to do with the 5 month old, those hens were ready for a male. And with the 11 month that dominant hen held on as long as she could.

So what can you do? I don't know what your facilities look like so I can't make any specific suggestions. Just hang on as long as you can as best you can until he grows up and they are ready to accept him.