Young cockerel distressing the pullets

[Wordslikeacharm]

Hi everyone,
I have a question about my younglings here.
Our chickens are free ranging all the time; we have 12 young ones (some 3 months and some 2 months old), of which the forum identified 4 males. Three of the cockerels are already showing signs of what I'd call dominance or maybe trying to mate. However one of them is hurting the pullets he tries to mate, he is very aggressive in his behaviour with them (never with us). He hurt two of them up to now, he manages to drop them on their side or even belly up, and they scream in discomfort.
Short of rehoming him, is there any way to correct this behaviour to have them coexist peacefully like for the other two cockerels?
Thanks in advance for any insight.

 

[sourland]

I would separate ALL of the cockerels from the flock until they and the pullets mature. Then I would select the cockerel most agreeable to you and the flock and cull/rehome/eat the others.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I would do the same.

Any male hurting or even causing angst to the females isn't one I would want in my flock.

 

[McChooky]

Hi everyone,
I have a question about my younglings here.
Our chickens are free ranging all the time; we have 12 young ones (some 3 months and some 2 months old), of which the forum identified 4 males. Three of the cockerels are already showing signs of what I'd call dominance or maybe trying to mate. However one of them is hurting the pullets he tries to mate, he is very aggressive in his behaviour with them (never with us). He hurt two of them up to now, he manages to drop them on their side or even belly up, and they scream in discomfort.
Short of rehoming him, is there any way to correct this behaviour to have them coexist peacefully like for the other two cockerels?
Thanks in advance for any insight.

An established flock with young chicks the adults control bad behavior of their offspring.This keeps peace in the flock and prevents injury.As their caretaker its your responsibility to be the 'adult' they don't have and separate any abusive cockerels .You may have to remove him permanently .I know this isn't what you want to hear but you have too many young cockerels for such a small number of pullets .
I separate my cockerels until my pullets start laying to prevent my pullets being abused or injured.

 

[Wordslikeacharm]

Hi, thank you all.
It's true it's not what I was hoping to do but I knew it would come to make this kind of choice. Btw those are only the young, there are also 8 older hens, all females egg laying hens. That makes 16 females, can 2 males stay?

 

[McChooky]

Hi, thank you all.
It's true it's not what I was hoping to do but I knew it would come to make this kind of choice. Btw those are only the young, there are also 8 older hens, all females egg laying hens. That makes 16 females, can 2 males stay?

Sadly I found one of my young pullets dead in the sitting position on the poop board one morning(soon after she'd come off the roost)I was stunned.Her head was dangling over the edge and everyone was dead silent in the coop. I immediately suspected one of my cockerels had mated her on the poop board and suffocated her when he held her down on the edge. Separate them

 

[Wordslikeacharm]

I'm so sorry to hear that @McChooky and separation for now it's the way to go, but I meant for the future, is 2 (future) roosters ok with 16 hens or it should be 1 rooster with 16 hens?

 

[McChooky]

I'm so sorry to hear that @McChooky and separation for now it's the way to go, but I meant for the future, is 2 (future) roosters ok with 16 hens or it should be 1 rooster with 16 hens?

I've learned my lesson and sticking to one from here out thanks!

 

[Perris]

I take it from what you say in #5 that there is no adult roo in the flock. I do not believe culling is necessary or that you have too many males.

Has the badly-behaved cockerel tried his luck with any of the 8 mature hens? If so, how did that go?
If not, I would just be patient; they will train him. 3 months old is still a juvenile. Try not to anthropomorphize their behaviour. They are chickens, not people.

I have 2 mature roos, plus 2 turning a year old next month, in a flock with (currently) 18 hens ranging dawn till dusk. The hens choose to associate with the males they prefer, and they prefer those that have the hens' interests uppermost. The young ruffian will learn this, or he will be lonely.

One of my cockerels usually has to roost alone because he is a head grabber. It looks rough, and they yell, but he doesn't draw blood on any unfortunate hen he happens to catch. If you see actual injuries - not just feather loss and hear squawks - then reviewing the situation may be wise, but as long as it's just rough and noisy, I think culling is an over-reaction.

 

[Wordslikeacharm]

I take it from what you say in #5 that there is no adult roo in the flock. I do not believe culling is necessary or that you have too many males.

There is indeed no adult roo in my flock; the one concerning me is Johnny who actually hurt one of them badly (she couldn't walk anymore and I had to keep her in the house for a couple of days). The others are doing fine and "sparring" with the hens, the older ones correct them quickly when they get "cocky".

You are correct, Johnny is always alone and the others don't like having him around, while they other males are resting or going with the flock all the time.