The Chicken's Guide to Social Status. How to identify the Pecking Order.

[humphrey farms]

Today"Paul" the wyandotte tried to crow at dawn!!! Very funny! He has never done that before and you were right he stepped up to the Rooster plate!

He led the charge too when I let them out to free Range. The flock followed him out into the back field and seemed happy to have someone in charge! Thank you for your input!

 

[Volkova]

Why is 80 a wild number?

Because it's unusually high for a 'natural' flock.

 

[Volkova]

Today"Paul" the wyandotte tried to crow at dawn!!! Very funny! He has never done that before and you were right he stepped up to the Rooster plate!

He led the charge too when I let them out to free Range. The flock followed him out into the back field and seemed happy to have someone in charge! Thank you for your input!

That's great to hear! Hopefully your hens will follow suit and you will have a fully established pecking order and a tighter, more natural flock.

 

[Volkova]

I have a mixed age flock, 7 hens are 2+ yrs old, 4 are 20 week old pullets, & 7 are 15 weeks old (including 1 roo) All live in 2 coops & share 1 run. The roo hasn't crowed yet & gets the brunt of picking on by the 20 week olds. Is this normal? Will he step up to the plate soon & become the leader?
Great info in your article, much appreciated!

Well, like I said earlier, it will take time for them to mature. Because he is the youngest and the most immature then he will certainly have some catching up to do! Eventually he will prove himself to other hens and pullets, by crowing, pecking, and mating with them this will help him assert his authority on the flock. Because you have the 15 week old chickens then this will give him the opportunity to mate with them when they are ready. If he was alone, he would not have much luck trying to romance a much older hen or an older pullet; so thankfully he does have some advantages!

Don't worry about him being picked on, pullets tend to be pretty jumpy at their age and sometimes show quite a lot of aggression to young males. This happens because the roosters may look different, have different behaviors to the pullets or because certain breeds have pullets that grow faster than the cockerels. Given time the pullets will calm down and the Rooster will strengthen!

Thank you for your comment! Good luck with your flock.

 

[Codyneal11]

Thanks