This guy should be arrested.........

[deanmarz]

for what he is doing to my girls.


This is my first roo and his idea of fun is making everyone exhausted. Constantly on the prowl and sneaking around to catch a young one off guard and then the chase is on.

I surprised he doesn't go after the older hens!! haha He would be missing feathers.

When does this behavior end? And btw, he started crowing yesterday....

 

[Ridgerunner]

It’s been over two months since you started this thread so he is a lot older, but you still have a cockerel, not a rooster. While the age is still appropriate, I’m using the term like some 40 or 50 year old people are still teenagers in attitude and action. Some people never grow up, some chickens never grow up. We can tell you what most cockerels will do but you’re not interested in that. You are worried about this specific individual.

Some of this behavior is pretty typical. While some hens and especially some pullets will squat for anything is spurs, many mature hens require a rooster behave like a responsible rooster before he is good enough to father their children or take over flock master duties. He needs to dance for them, find them food, look for danger, and keep peace in his flock. He also needs to WOW! them with the magnificence of his self-confidence and personality. That’s hard for an immature boy to do.

What I think is going on is that his hormones are still running pretty wild and he has not learned any self-control. He’s probably bigger and stronger than the hens, certainly more aggressive, and he is trying to force the older hens to accept him as flock master. The older hens, at least some of them, are having nothing to do with that. They want more than just brute force in the father of their children. He doesn’t have what it takes.

Several times I’ve removed the lead rooster before the cockerel that replaced him was mature enough to take over the flock. Normally a hen steps into that lead role until the cockerel grows up. Practically always the transition from the lead hen ruling the flock to the cockerel taking over is pretty peaceful once he matures. But one time the lead hen refused to give up her position. I saw behavior much like what you are describing, for two days the cockerel/rooster aggressively went after the lead hen, not just forcing her sexually but chasing her to peck her head or just grab her, normally around the head. After two days she accepted his dominance and they became best buddies. But that behavior only lasted two days, yours has gone on over more than two months and now a hen is dead. That’s not acceptable.

I don’t separate my cockerels from the flock. If they are broody-raised they are with the flock from hatch. If they are brooder-raised they are with the flock anywhere after 5 to 8 weeks, depending in when I integrate them. I normally put my excess cockerels in the freezer anywhere from 4 to 6 months, depending on circumstances, often freezer space. Sometimes it gets pretty dramatic down there when the cockerels hit puberty but I have lots of room. I think that helps a lot. We all do it differently.

It’s possible that your cockerel will eventually mature enough to take over flock master duties and be accepted by the entire flock. Most do mature. But some don’t. Personality traits can be inherited just like physical attributes. I really would not want that cockerel to spread his genetics in my flock. He’s too insecure and brutal even allowing for hormones.

I know he is beautiful and you may have really become attached to him. But the only reason you need a rooster is for fertile eggs. Everything else is pure personal preference. There are a lot of good roosters out there to replace him if you really want a rooster so you don’t need to put up with him. That’s my opinion. How you manage that is up to you.

 

[Gloryjasmine]

Hey! I just wanted to say.... I had a foghorn leghorn looking rooster. Named Foghorn...I know,how original,right? Lol. Anywho,he would get on my girls and after he was done,their poor bodies would be torn open! Down to the flesh. I'm not exaggerating. Needless to say,I traded him at auction. I don't think it does stop. Think,young male,several females for the taking. Hmmmmm...... Game on in his mind! Best of luck with your lil guy. Btw,he's very handsome! God Bless

 

[deanmarz]

He is going up for felony homicide (chickencide) today. He killed my favorite old girl who was the dominate girl in the flock. I found her dead on the poop board when I got home from work.

Mr Tough Guy is spending his first night out free ranging under the stars.

My question is what will happen to the flock dynamics when he is gone?

History: I had 9 hens laying 9 eggs everyday all last winter.
Spring 2015 I get 25 chicks and surprise Mr Tough Guy.
I sold 10 chicks so now 9 older hens and 15 pullets.
Racoon gets 2 pullets so down to 9 older hens and 13 pullets
Out of the 13 hens now, he can control about 7, the other young one wont go near him.
Out of the 9 older hens two are almost plucked clean and wont come off the roost, most have bloody combs and now my prize girl is dead.

So, back to the question: how will his domain react when he is gone? BTW I get 12 to 17 eggs daily. I bet when the stress level goes down I should get 18 eggs everyday.

What do you think?

 

[donrae]

Pretty much nothing will happen to the flock dynamics as far as the hens' pecking order. The males are outside that.

your birds that laid all last year will likely be taking the winter off this year regardless of the rooster. Unless you supplement with light, most hens take their second winter and each subsequent winter off.

production may increase slightly due to less stress, but that will be counterbalanced by time of year and age of birds.

 

[keesmom]

How do you know he was responsible for the hen's death?

Also, if you do not want to keep him, and I understand why you do not want a jerk cockerel, then cull him. If you can't then give him to someone who will.

Your hens laying won't change once he is gone.

 

[Jesusfreak101]

We culled our rooster (he was sweet to the girls but mean to my daughter) and the next day i was expecting no eggs i got four from all four laying hens so i dont think they cared one bit.

 

[MadamPoofyBrow]

At this point he's probably stressing them and production will go up. My hens won't lay if I take away a rosoter they like. If I take away a stressful one, production goes up.
He's young-I'd give him time and he'll calm down. They calm down at around two years. At least mine always do. I have pens sitting around everywhere with roosters waiting to be old enough to be good to the hens. Young ones harass the girls. But he should get over it. Good luck!

 

[azygous]

This is precisely the reason I advocate separating all overly aggressive/attentive cockerels for at least their first year. Cockerels are at least as likely to have their brutal tendencies mitigated over time as not, and keeping them away from the pullets and hens does no harm to any of the flock or to the cockerels.

This year, I wound up with three unwanted cockerels due to very inept sexing by the hatchery when handling my orders. The first two cockerels were quite opposite in temperament. One was as our OP describes the hoodlum pictured above, having a mating style that resembled an armed and fired missile. The other cockerel was so smooth in his mating style, wax on, wax off, hardly anyone, including me, was aware he was even doing it, even when it was going on right next to me. The hens mostly all love him. Needless to say, I've found no reason to separate the second one from the flock. The first one was let outside to free-range first thing each day, and only let back in to roost with the flock at night, and he even found a way to cause a commotion at roosting time, too. I managed to find a home for him with a flock without any other roosters.

I now have a third cockerel who will be coming into his hormones in another month or so. He's the same breed as the first cockerel and thankfully he has a home with twenty hens lined up to go to when he reaches maturity. But if I had to keep him, under no circumstances would I permit him access to the hens during his first year if he demonstrated the same tendencies has that first one did.

Some may question my sending such a cockerel to another flock. Quite often, going into a new flock will mitigate the temperament of a hoodlum. This is exactly what has occurred. The reports I have been getting are that this cockerel has adjusted very well to his new flock and everyone is getting along splendidly. Re-homing is a perfectly acceptable option to culling, and so is segregation.

 

[deanmarz]

There are no complaints with his mating style. Very quick, quiet and you are right, you wouldn't even know it unless you saw him on top. His so called groupies follow him around and all is good. It's just his despise for the older girls and how he abuses them, especially the EEs.

I might try segregation for a while and see how that goes. He is a pretty bird.