Will my flock miss their rooster?

[Molly77]

I have a small starter flock of 7 Buff Orpingtons, they are 4 months plus a couple of weeks old, I raised them from 2-day old chicks. For the most part they are very gentle and collegial with one another, and me. One (who has never been friendly even as a tiny chick) turns out to be a large cockerel, he started crowing a couple of weeks ago and is getting more and more aggressive with me, and with the hens. So far the crowing is tolerable, he doesn't mindlessly do it all day. But, I have to be watchful all the time when I'm in the coop or run as he tries to run up and bite me, he growls nonstop when I'm nearby and gets between me and the hens so they can't come sit on my lap anymore, and this morning when I went to open the door to the run for them he squatted down and squared off like he was going to fight me.

At first I was very stoked to be able to grow my own flock by letting them have chicks (I've read B.O.s are very broody), but having to be super on guard all the time with this little a-hole is getting old already. I'm thinking to cull him, or give him to my chicken sitter, who has a big flock and loves roosters.

My question is: how much is it going to upset my teenage hens if he disappears one day? They seem to be very good at knowing when someone's missing. A couple of times I have closed the coop/run door with one outside still, and the ones inside are very worked up until I let the last one in.

 

[Skyle]

My advice is to not use him as a breeder: aggressive roosters produce aggressive sons. It's not nice to not being able to enjoy your flock because of him attacking you. Plus they are still young, I'm afraid it will get worse as he ages up and matures. Maybe you could try searching for another, more friendly, rooster (after removing this one from the flock). The hens will notice the absence of the cockerel, but they'll probably get over it quickly.

 

[Muser]

Hi there, I was in the same predicament, like the exact same thing! If you want to read the full thread, it's here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/flock-dynamic-if-i-remove-the-cockerel.1623574/

TLDR: No, my girls are more relaxed without the a$$ and so am I.

Funny thing, my BO x Brahma just hatched out 7 chicks from eggs after going broody, after I removed the cockerel. Best decision I ever made in regards to my flock! I bought hatching eggs online to do so

 

[Molly77]

My advice is to not use him as a breeder: aggressive roosters produce aggressive sons. It's not nice to not being able to enjoy your flock because of him attacking you. Plus they are still young, I'm afraid it will get worse as he ages up and matures. Maybe you could try searching for another, more friendly, rooster (after removing this one from the flock). The hens will notice the absence of the cockerel, but they'll probably get over it quickly.

Oh, good to know the behavior is genetic. He has been markedly unfriendly since he was a tiny chick so that makes sense. Seems like the best is to probably cull him then. Thank you!

 

[RubelliteRose]

We have had to remove a few aggressive boys from our flock and lost a couple of girls for various reasons. The girls seem to be missed by some of the members of the flock, but not all. The males, no matter what age, never seem to be missed by the rest of the flock. If your cockerel is already aggressive, you should remove him before someone gets hurt. We kept our first roo because he was only pecking feet. Around age 18 mo., he tried to flog my adult daughter and my husband, so we sent him to freezer camp.
As far as his sons, 2 were aggressive with the hens from the beginning. We culled them quickly. His other 2 sons get along well and are very good with both the hens and us

 

[Molly77]

Hi there, I was in the same predicament, like the exact same thing! If you want to read the full thread, it's here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/flock-dynamic-if-i-remove-the-cockerel.1623574/

TLDR: No, my girls are more relaxed without the a$$ and so am I.

Funny thing, my BO x Brahma just hatched out 7 chicks from eggs after going broody, after I removed the cockerel. Best decision I ever made in regards to my flock! I bought hatching eggs online to do so

Great thread, thank you!

 

[Shadrach]

I have a small starter flock of 7 Buff Orpingtons, they are 4 months plus a couple of weeks old, I raised them from 2-day old chicks. For the most part they are very gentle and collegial with one another, and me. One (who has never been friendly even as a tiny chick) turns out to be a large cockerel, he started crowing a couple of weeks ago and is getting more and more aggressive with me, and with the hens. So far the crowing is tolerable, he doesn't mindlessly do it all day. But, I have to be watchful all the time when I'm in the coop or run as he tries to run up and bite me, he growls nonstop when I'm nearby and gets between me and the hens so they can't come sit on my lap anymore, and this morning when I went to open the door to the run for them he squatted down and squared off like he was going to fight me.

At first I was very stoked to be able to grow my own flock by letting them have chicks (I've read B.O.s are very broody), but having to be super on guard all the time with this little a-hole is getting old already. I'm thinking to cull him, or give him to my chicken sitter, who has a big flock and loves roosters.

My question is: how much is it going to upset my teenage hens if he disappears one day? They seem to be very good at knowing when someone's missing. A couple of times I have closed the coop/run door with one outside still, and the ones inside are very worked up until I let the last one in.

You've noted four points that you are having difficulty with:
He crows.
Roosters and cockerels do that. There is nothing you can do about it.

The hens are reacting differently to you and the cockerel attempts to prevent them having contact with you.
This is normal as well. At a certain age cockerels become the flock leader and the hens become his hens, not your hens. Lots of people have problems with this. It's not something you can do anything about now, but with some patience and some time and experience you will be able to handle your hens again if you go about it the right way.

He's aggressive with the hens.
Some hens are less tolerant of a cockerels mating attempts than others. As the males grow up they get more adept at mating. It's usually a question of time. If he is physically hurting the hens (drawing blood, excessive feather pulling out) then he should go.

You think he may be becoming aggressive with you.
There are lots of things that can be done about this and you will probably find with a bit of reasearch something that works for you and him.

Understanding something about male chickens might be helpfull. I wrote this article for exactly this. The article doesn't offer much in the way of a solution to these problems because every chicken keeper workd with different circumstances and has different expectations but the article will help explain why you are having problems.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/understanding-your-rooster.75056/

 

[lagrange chicks]

When I culled our Rooster we missed him more than the hens did.

 

[Molly77]

You've noted four points that you are having difficulty with:
He crows.
Roosters and cockerels do that. There is nothing you can do about it.

The hens are reacting differently to you and the cockerel attempts to prevent them having contact with you.
This is normal as well. At a certain age cockerels become the flock leader and the hens become his hens, not your hens. Lots of people have problems with this. It's not something you can do anything about now, but with some patience and some time and experience you will be able to handle your hens again if you go about it the right way.

He's aggressive with the hens.
Some hens are less tolerant of a cockerels mating attempts than others. As the males grow up they get more adept at mating. It's usually a question of time. If he is physically hurting the hens (drawing blood, excessive feather pulling out) then he should go.

You think he may be becoming aggressive with you.
There are lots of things that can be done about this and you will probably find with a bit of reasearch something that works for you and him.

Understanding something about male chickens might be helpfull. I wrote this article for exactly this. The article doesn't offer much in the way of a solution to these problems because every chicken keeper workd with different circumstances and has different expectations but the article will help explain why you are having problems.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/understanding-your-rooster.75056/

Wow this is a fascinating read. Thank you! It makes me inclined to try to come to terms with my roo rather than take him out, but I can't imagine him ever letting me touch the back of his neck or his comb! He never takes his eyes off me or lets me touch him, he seems always steeled for my attack even tho I've never force ably picked him up or aggressed on him.

 

[Muser]

Yeah, I practised all the things people suggest. To let him have the food first so he feels king to his hens. I was happy for them to be 'his hens'. I tried carrying him like a football when he tried flogging me. I tried pushing him gently to the floor so he submitted. I tried treats, giving him space, talking to him, standing my ground, paying his rent. He turned into a complete a$$hole at about 10 months. Correction, he was just doing what nature told him to do but ultimately I didn't wanna have to arm myself going into my own garden each time I wanted to clean or collect eggs. I didn't want to be afraid of him launching into a full rage... which is what he inevitably ended up doing. Don't bite the hand that feeds, especially when that hand is considerably higher on the food chain. I culled him, had him for dinner, he was tough as an old boot. I put it down to his bitter nature lol. Haven't looked back. I can sprint through my garden without lord douche hunting me