Will roosters always alert his hens?

[rumbleBee_STi]

Im a first time chicken owner, this is my first flock....
I’m just now letting my flock of 13 free range. The pullets are around 14-15 weeks old & the rooster is 2 weeks ahead of them. He does pretty good with sounding his quick alert noise when something spooks him.
My question is.... will he sound his alarm when the hawks are flying over? Even if there haven’t been any aerial attacks (yet)?We have a few red tail hawks (4 that I’ve seen all together) Who like to fly in our vicinity between 1-3pm, sometimes earlier. The hawks haven’t been out while the chooks have been free ranging yet, & I know all roosters are different. Per se, our rooster is the ideal protective rooster, he hasn’t had to deal with any hawk attacks yet, would he still sound the alarm regardless?

This is my handsome boy, Hei Hei! ()
He’s a French black copper Maran. I hope the 12 ladies he’s responsible for doesn’t give him a heart attack. Is 12 too many ladies for 1 man??

 

[MarkJr]

I think you’ll find 12 is just enough to keep the young cockerel from terrorizing a smaller number. I get fertile eggs almost always from 10 layers. Cockerel is happy as can be.

 

[MarkJr]

As to the hawks..... it depends on the cockerel or roo. My new guy alerted to the house cat for the first few days until he realized it wasn’t going to eat them. Now he just quietly chuckles when he comes into view. The pullets and hen raise up for a quick look and go right back to it. Had a buzzard fly over and he called. All but two of the hens scattered for cover. The two remaining froze, and the cockerel was on them flapping his wings and flogging them until they headed for cover. He stayed out, all sorts of upset staring at the sky for it to return.
Not sure if it’s normal..... but it’s far different than the other 3 males I’ve owned.

 

[cmom]

It's just a matter of time before your birds are discovered and something sneaks in and takes a bird. Since you free range that is the risk you take. A friend of mine had a hawk take his rooster. Another friend had an eagle take one. Good luck and have fun with your flock...

 

[Folly's place]

These birds are pullets, and a cockerel, with no adults to help them figure out what problems might be out there. There's instinctive behavior, and that learning curve, and experiences, usually bad experiences, that develop caution in both sexes over time.
Individual reactions vary too, and some birds will run, some will fly up into trees, and some freeze in place. Any of these behaviors may or may not fit the immediate threat!
Over time, I think that the frozen in place individuals die more often, and it seems to me that these tend to be the sweet, friendly hens who lack caution generally.
Having a rooster or roosters adds to the flock dynamics in many ways, and it's great to have the right ones, but they die too in predator attacks.
Mary

 

[Folly's place]

There are different call for different threats, and it's great when things work as they should.
Mary

 

[rumbleBee_STi]

As to the hawks..... it depends on the cockerel or roo. My new guy alerted to the house cat for the first few days until he realized it wasn’t going to eat them. Now he just quietly chuckles when he comes into view. The pullets and hen raise up for a quick look and go right back to it. Had a buzzard fly over and he called. All but two of the hens scattered for cover. The two remaining froze, and the cockerel was on them flapping his wings and flogging them until they headed for cover. He stayed out, all sorts of upset staring at the sky for it to return.
Not sure if it’s normal..... but it’s far different than the other 3 males I’ve owned.

Sounds like a great roo you have! I just had my question answered 10 minutes ago. My cockerel did NOT alert the pullets about the hawks in the sky. But thankfully, the ladies seen the hawks & stayed together out of plain sight. Maybe over time!

 

[rumbleBee_STi]

These birds are pullets, and a cockerel, with no adults to help them figure out what problems might be out there. There's instinctive behavior, and that learning curve, and experiences, usually bad experiences, that develop caution in both sexes over time.
Individual reactions vary too, and some birds will run, some will fly up into trees, and some freeze in place. Any of these behaviors may or may not fit the immediate threat!
Over time, I think that the frozen in place individuals die more often, and it seems to me that these tend to be the sweet, friendly hens who lack caution generally.
Having a rooster or roosters adds to the flock dynamics in many ways, and it's great to have the right ones, but they die too in predator attacks.
Mary

In a perfect world, right? I agree with you completely & thought the same. The bad experiences will be the learning curve for these youngsters. I have a new flock coming in soon, they will get the opportunity to learn from the the current gang. My chooks do the “frozen in place“ thing too but mainly while inside their run. I hope to never lose one of my babies, I would be so heartbroken!

 

[rumbleBee_STi]

It's just a matter of time before your birds are discovered and something sneaks in and takes a bird. Since you free range that is the risk you take. A friend of mine had a hawk take his rooster. Another friend had an eagle take one. Good luck and have fun with your flock...

I hope not! I would be devastated!

 

[cmom]

It will happen sooner or later. I went for a few year then a fox got some of the birds. I also had a coyote and bobcat kill some birds. Once your birds are discovered it will be just a matter of time. For me it was when my most favorite bird was taken by a fox during the middle of the day when I was out working on the coops and ever since my birds stay in their nice large protected pens. I was devastated. I have lost some birds to hawks and owls. Now I have electric wires around my coops and pens, concrete under the gates and heavy duty netting covering all of the pens. Again, good luck and have fun.