Seeking advice on flock dynamics

[islandgirl82]

Yes, he is just new at it and is not sure how to go about it.

Thank you. My only experience with males is with mature roosters and neither one I previously had displayed behavior like this. My top hen never submitted to either one (she would only squat for me) and they both accepted that after just one time of her refusing their advances.

 

[enola]

If this drama was in my henhouse, i would separate him from the hens untill the youngest pullet is mature. He will then be faced with a flock of hens that he will not be able to take advantage of as easily. If separation is not possible the youngest hen is going to be miserable for a LONG time.

 

[islandgirl82]

The youngest is the same age as him (well...two days younger); 5 months and she should start laying at any time. Any time he goes after her, he gets lambasted by the older pullets who have been laying since this summer and the 4 year old hens if he gets in their way.

Because going after the youngest isn't quite so easy for him, he has now begun targeting one of the older pullets (8 months) who just happens to be the smallest in the flock. She's a Hamburg and won't be getting any larger. The rest of the girls are roughly the same size and all with a similar build (though the youngest is turning out to be my largest girl - her mother was a Marans).

I was thinking that maybe because she is built differently, he's trying to run the Hamburg right out of the flock. Luckily for her, my two oldest hens (and EE and an SLW) seem to welcome her company and if she's spending any time with her flock mates, it's them. Otherwise she's off by herself or right at my heels. The rest of this year's hatchlings just seem too spastic for her liking to begin with and now he's chasing her away.

 

[islandgirl82]

I also just saw the Hamburg find a spot with some tasty goodies and he rushed over, stood in the spot she'd been picking over, made a jerky movement to throw a shoulder in her direction and scratched his feet quickly. She backed way off and then he started eating what she had found.

I'm not quite up on what behaviors are to aggress or impress. I know they'll do a little dance to attract the ladies but I'm not sure if what he just did qualifies as his attempt at sultry dance moves or if he was really being a jerk. My guess would be the latter.