What to do?

[lilwanderer]

Friend just got a 4 month old rooster who appears to have already reached sexual maturity. Everytime they bring him hens he tortures them. We have hens that are only 3 months to give him but we don’t want to scare them by putting them in there. Is there anything that can be done to fix this? ( We thought about older hens but are worried they may just beat the guy up instead. )

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Its called "Pecking Order" for a reason. Keeping the rooster alone is n't going to correct the behaviors, and "teenage" Roos with their first whiff of hormones can be very badly behaved.

If you have older hens that can teach him how a gentleman is to behave, that's your best chance at success (though not a guarantee). Don't be surprised if they give him what for, more than once. As long as there is no more blood involved than some pinpricks, everything is fine.

 

[NatJ]

Is there anything that can be done to fix this? ( We thought about older hens but are worried they may just beat the guy up instead. )

Providing plenty of places for hens to get away from him might help (raised perches to sit on, objects they can run on all sides of to get out of sight, and so forth.)

A divided pen might help. The male could live in one side, the females in the other side, and they can socialize through the wire mesh divider. That could let the females have a chance to finish growing up. It is not a long-term solution, just a way to manage the situation until they are more grown up.

Depending on how the cockerel is acting, getting beaten up by older hens might be exactly the right thing for him. Of course you don't want serious injuries, but he might benefit from learning how to be submissive to bossy older hens.

Definitely consider whether to have a rooster at all, and whether to have this one in particular. Sometimes the best solution is no rooster or a different rooster, and other times the best solution is to work with the one you have.

Butchering the cockerel is always one option, but because it is permanent, I would definitely try other ideas first.

 

[lilwanderer]

Its called "Pecking Order" for a reason. Keeping the rooster alone is n't going to correct the behaviors, and "teenage" Roos with their first whiff of hormones can be very badly behaved.

If you have older hens that can teach him how a gentleman is to behave, that's your best chance at success (though not a guarantee). Don't be surprised if they give him what for, more than once. As long as there is no more blood involved than some pinpricks, everything is fine.

Providing plenty of places for hens to get away from him might help (raised perches to sit on, objects they can run on all sides of to get out of sight, and so forth.)

A divided pen might help. The male could live in one side, the females in the other side, and they can socialize through the wire mesh divider. That could let the females have a chance to finish growing up. It is not a long-term solution, just a way to manage the situation until they are more grown up.

Depending on how the cockerel is acting, getting beaten up by older hens might be exactly the right thing for him. Of course you don't want serious injuries, but he might benefit from learning how to be submissive to bossy older hens.

Definitely consider whether to have a rooster at all, and whether to have this one in particular. Sometimes the best solution is no rooster or a different rooster, and other times the best solution is to work with the one you have.

Butchering the cockerel is always one option, but because it is permanent, I would definitely try other ideas first.

I’ll be sure to le her know about the older hen thing, and we’ll go from there.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Providing plenty of places for hens to get away from him might help (raised perches to sit on, objects they can run on all sides of to get out of sight, and so forth.)

^^ this is great advice regardless. Runs should always have ways to block line of sight, change elevation, and otherwise help with entertainment - which also helps with integration.

 

[lilwanderer]

I’ll be sure to le her know about the older hen thing, and we’ll go from there.

Update:
She said she may just let him run free in the yard and keep the hens in the coop, if something happens, it happens. (her words )

 

[lilwanderer]

^^ this is great advice regardless. Runs should always have ways to block line of sight, change elevation, and otherwise help with entertainment - which also helps with integration.

he's in a pretty big area, plenty of boxes and perches around the place, the hens would be fine in those terms.

 

[lilwanderer]

Another update:
Change of plans, we gave him an older hen, a couple years old. She’s about his size, a little bigger but it seems fine. This hen also wears a saddle so he shouldn’t hurt her too badly. When we first put her in the coop she put up a fight for a little while, scared him off for a minute, but she eventually backed down to him, unexpectedly. Couple hours later, they’re doing better than I expected. Is one hen fine for now? I’m aware a rooster should have 5 to 10 hens so I’m just making sure it’ll be alright for a little bit. She plans on getting more, but can’t do so at the moment and I’m not willing to hand over any more of mine to her.

 

[NatJ]

Is one hen fine for now? I’m aware a rooster should have 5 to 10 hens so I’m just making sure it’ll be alright for a little bit.

Sometimes a pair works fine, but often the rooster mates with her often enough to cause a bare back and plucked head on the hen.

It really depends on the individual rooster and hen.

I would certainly try to get more hens as soon as reasonably possible, and watch in case the current hen needs to be separated for have a break.

 

[lilwanderer]

Sometimes a pair works fine, but often the rooster mates with her often enough to cause a bare back and plucked head on the hen.

This hen also wears a saddle so he shouldn’t hurt her too badly.

As I said, she has a saddle so it should prevent a bare back. All I know is that she doesn’t plan on waiting too long to get more hens.