Young shy rooster

[hailajohill]

Back in August I decided to add a young rooster to my mixed flock of 8 hens. My previous rooster did not survive a coyote attack, and I missed having a "gentleman" in the yard. He was about 5 weeks old when I brought him home. He spent a few weeks in a brooder inside the coop and then after a few weeks of the usual chasing and pecking from the older hens, he seems to be fitting in ok. He's now about 18/19 weeks old. However, he still won't join them on the roost (still sleeps either on or in a nesting box,) he's still at the bottom of the pecking order and he still hasn't crowed. Maybe I'm just being impatient, but I feel like he's a bit stunted or something. Will he eventually start chasing the ladies and asserting some dominance, and CROWING, or might he always be a little timid? I call him Hercules; he needs to start acting like it!!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

He's still a young teenager, he needs time to mature more. This time of year due to decreasing daylight hormones wane. After the winter solstice under increasing daylight your young roosters hormones will start to surge. By early spring he should be ready to become the boss.

 

[Folly's place]

Give the guy some time! He's a July baby, and very immature still. Mary

 

[aart]

Teenaged boy at middle aged hen party...give him a couple more months.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I had a cockerel that age do what you want him to, but that is extremely rare. I've had a cockerel take until 11 months to do what you want him too, that's also kind of rare to wait that long, though some take even longer. Give your hens some credit, they have something to say about it too. Males tend to get all the credit or blame for these things but those hens are part of the flock too.

But the biggest part is that cockerels maturity level and individual cockerels mature at different rates. In a normal flock with normal mature hens most cockerels should take over as flock master at around seven to eight months. But that is just an average, it can be earlier or later. Sometimes that takeover is very smooth and peaceful, sometimes there is a fair amount of force involved. Don't be shocked to see some fighting and rough behavior between him and the dominant hen especially when that moment arrives. It may take him a couple of days to convince her that she has lost that dominant position.

 

[chickens really]

Sounds like a good Rooster in the making..He is a young Cockerel and respects the ladies...Give him time and as his confidence grows he will start wooing the Hens...