When will my rooster calm down?

[hockeygirl56]

I got 3 chicks this spring, and one ended up being a rooster. I didn't want a rooster, but I got attached to him and decided if he stays nice and everyone gets along he can stay. He is an Easter Egger, coming up on 4 months old and really starting to get frisky. He mostly goes after the 2 that I got at the same time as him, since he's afraid of most of the older hens, and those 2 want nothing to do with it, so they spend a lot of time roosting up somewhere away from him. He has started going after my most bullied hen now too, and tonight she was pretty upset over it. She even got worked up just when he would crow, and wouldn't leave my side when I was outside. I'm assuming we're dealing with some sort of teenager stage and eventually he'll relax a little bit and quit thinking about the sex part of life and be more of a protector...am I right? I don't want everyone to be miserable, so if this is how life is going to be for them then I may need to look into rehoming him.
Here he is below with the 2 younger girls in one of their "safe places"

 

[LRH97]

Roos that are "coming of age" are usually at their most aggressive. Meaning that their first year is usually pretty unstable for them. They usually will settle down with age. Keep in mind, however, that some roos can be just plain nasty to their hens (and their flock masters, AKA you!). That's just how some are tempered, even though I haven't had too many aggressive EEs. (Those are also the ones that wind up in the stew pot) The roo is also the natural leader of the flock and he's probably also trying to establish that position as well. As long as there are no severe injuries, I wouldn't worry too much about re-homing him.

 

[Folly's place]

I agree; adolescent cockrels want to mate with their adolescent flock mates, and the pullets mature later, so difficulties occur. Squaking and swearing aren't the same as injuries inflicted, so with more time things should improve, if he turns out to be a good boy. If he's a jerk, the crock pot beckons! Mary

 

[hockeygirl56]

So at his age it's normal to grab onto their neck feathers and get dragged around while they run screaming and trying to get away? Breaks my heart to hear them scream. I don't know if I can kill him...it just seems like there's no nice way to do it.

 

[smarsh]

the pullet should become more aggreable to his passes once they are laying, if the older hens are not taking this, they may never submit, without a rooster for all their lives, may never aggree to the ordeal. I would be concerned about the affect on egg production and their overall health and well being if they are staying on the roost.

 

[NC118]

I have 1 roo and 4 hens all the same age about 20 weeks old. At first it was pretty violent but as the hens and the roo learns what he is doing it should get more gentle at least that's what has happened with my chickens. He is pretty amorous so I was wondering myself will he calm down as he ages. In the morning the hens stay in the house because they dont want to deal with him lol

 

[LRH97]

I agree with both smarsh and NC118. If your hens are young and new to the whole rooster thing, they probably will not tolerate someone grabbing onto their hackles very well at first. As Folly's place said, cockerels mature sooner than pullets, resulting in them wanting them to mate with their younger flock mates far before than it is needed or wanted. I just recently started a new flock of OEG bantams. The cockerels were one of the most quickly maturing batches of young roos that I have ever had. They started attempting to crow at around two and a half months. Now they're attempting to mount the pullets, and it sounds like a bunch of little girls screaming back there. So, yes, it is typical behavior of young frisky cockerels and it's not really a reason to cull if he's not doing serious harm. He should even out, and the pullets should become more calm about it over time.

 

[RoosterDon]

our 7-8 month old hatched rooster grabs the neck too. i don't think it hurts them though. as far as killing them, if you wait till evening they are pretty comatose then you can lay it on the ground, hold its body down and grab its head (covering its eyes), pull the head out then chop it off. I just had to do that to a mortally injured rooster. I was really worried, but then it really was not that hard, and it was very instant. they do flop around for quite a while and the body makes noises.

 

[hockeygirl56]

My biggest concern is my older girls, esp the one he's been targeting. She is always the one that gets picked on, and she doesn't tolerate it well. Today after he attempted to get on her, she went up on the roost and was breathing with her mouth open and wings held out. If he'll chill out somewhat soon or maybe not just focus on one or two hens, I think she'll be ok, but I hate seeing her so upset right now.

 

[hockeygirl56]

After tonight, I've decided Norman's time here is over. I was cleaning up wet shavings in the coop, and I hear screaming, and in runs my poor bullied chicken with him attached. It took what seemed like forever to get him to let her go. I put her up on the roost, and she was just exhausted and looked horrible. She was bleeding last night. I can't watch that anymore. Plus, when I went into the coop last night and tonight, he was pecking my feet - tonight was much worse than last night. My husband's coworker is willing to take him on and see if he'll do better in his coop, and as bad as I feel about rehoming him, I have to think of my older ladies first. Hopefully he'll be better behaved over there, or he probably will become dinner. I was really hoping he'd do ok with all the work and socialization I put into him, but I think I got a dud.