when will the pecking order be established??

[chixaregreat41]

I moved my rooster Into the coop with my sex links for the springs breeding season but they are bullying him and hes too afraid to mate or even CROW and he always crows? I want him to be brave and i have a order for 18 FERTILE EGGS in 10 days and i was expecting them to include him and i cant put him back because the others arent laying yet so when do you think he will begin crowing or more importantly breed?

 

[Den in Penn]

If he is a young cockerel and they are older hens it could take a while till he can gain their respect enough to mate. How long that takes would just be a guess.

 

[bobbi-j]

I agree with Den in Penn - I don't know that there is any specific time for the pecking order to sort itself out. It depends on how long it takes them to decide what's what and who's who.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You are talking about two different things. The pecking order is the social ranking within the flock between all chickens. Chicks in the brooder or with a broody start working on that as soon as they hatch and dry out, but in a mixed age flock, it keeps getting sorted until all chickens are mature. That’s not what you are looking at.

You are looking at flock dominance of a rooster. Some hens, especially pullets, may squat for anything in spurs, but many mature hens expect more of a rooster if they are going to have his children. They expect a good flock master to WOW! them with his magnificence and self-confidence, dance for them, find them food, keep peace in his flock, and provide protection. It takes a mature rooster to do that, not a young brat. Age is not the important factor, maturity is. I’ve seen a 5 month old rooster do that, but that is really rare. I’ve seen a rooster not do that until he was 11 months old. 7 to 8 months is a pretty good average but it can vary a lot depending on the specific rooster.