How do I discourage my rooster from mounting the hens in my presence??

[willheveland]

Quote:
I like your analogy

That's great. He's just doing what nature tells him to do and what is natural to do. I have 10 roosters and they are not showing me disrespect by mating their ladies. They don't attack me either. They know I am the Queen of the coop and I don't have to be mean to them with a boot to show them this.

I agree with you guys.If you keep a roo away from his hens especially where he can still see them but can't have them,your creating a meaner rooster.
Kicking them is not the best idea,they will remember that each time your around and will challenge you and be more aggressive,your also probably creating a man fighter.

I have never heard you shouldn't have them mount hens in front of you by anyone that ever had experience raising chickens.
Seemes pretty natural to me. Will

 

[halo]

I like my roos to breed my girls whenever they can. They all get an "attaboy" if Im there.

 

[Guinea Goonie]

Let me zero in on my practice of being the alpha roo. I DO NOT let a big rooster mount and try to mate a hen that is smaller than he. For instance my Leghorn (we call him foghorn leghorn) is a bad boy for sure. He tried to mount the banties in the barn and in my presence I will not allow this. NOW, if he is after a hen his own size, no problem, he is doing me a favor down the road. Really, trying to hold a roo from his God given duties does not alter their perception of you being the alpha roo, they do it all the time right under the beak of the roo in charge.

Your mission is to keep your hens safe and yourself safe from a bad boy roo. I will say it again, I love my roos and think that a beautiful big ol' bad boy roo is the best creature on this earth. It is a simple life for them, they do what god intended them to do.

 

[banter]

Don't keep a roo if it bothers you-you'll still get eggs! If you let them range he wil protect them at all costs.

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Quote:
AMEN! lol! I want to make SURE my rooster is doing his deed. In fact, I have hens that will fight other roosters...and I have to put them into another pen with a cock they will NOT fight and will instantly submit to. I want to see her submit to him before another fight happens. I want to see him earn his keep...whether in hatching eggs or in the open pen! lol

 

[dancingbear]

We always had yard full of chickens when I was a kid. I've kept free-range (real free-range, where they run around a large, open acreage, they go into a coop and get closed up at night) for about 15 years. I nearly always have at least 2 roos.

I never heard of not letting a roo mount a hen in your presence, until I started reading on BYC. In all these years, I've had one human aggressive roo. I got rid of him. The rest have been fine. They mate in front of us all the time.

I think this thing about not allowing mating in front of you is nonsense. I can't help but wonder if people are creating problem roos, when otherwise, left alone, they would've been just fine.

The other method, carrying them around if they are being aggressive, makes a lot more sense to me. If they are not being aggressive, what's the problem?

 

[Katy]

Quote:
I agree with you!!

 

[Crazi Oma]

He's just doing what comes naturally. I've never believed that
it's being done to show anything to you. I've never understood why it upsets some people.

Roosters never let a subordinate roo mount hens in his presence, so if your rooster does so in front of you it's the same as saying "I'm the boss". He should be trying to hide from you to grab a hen or two if he really understands you're in charge. A rooster who knows his place will not attack you unless he's trying to supplant your position. My giant RIR roo named Ruben knows and keeps his respect when I'm around. I never have to fear a peck or scratch because we worked out our positions while he was being raised. At 16 weeks he fluffed up and stomped at me. It did not end well for his little fluffy butt (I popped it with my hand) and he's never done it since. Also, I make it a practice of picking him up every day and giving him a good scratch. Picking up a rooster seems to also imprint their subordinate position in their minds - though I doubt there's real science behind this. Just be sure to keep his wings and sides free so he doesn't feel suffocated.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Roosters never let a subordinate roo mount hens in his presence, so if your rooster does so in front of you it's the same as saying "I'm the boss". He should be trying to hide from you to grab a hen or two if he really understands you're in charge. A rooster who knows his place will not attack you unless he's trying to supplant your position. My giant RIR roo named Ruben knows and keeps his respect when I'm around. I never have to fear a peck or scratch because we worked out our positions while he was being raised. At 16 weeks he fluffed up and stomped at me. It did not end well for his little fluffy butt (I popped it with my hand) and he's never done it since.

Just because a rooster breeds in front of you doesn't mean he's going to go sour. I have over a dozen males now, and have had way more prior, and pretty much all of of them with 1 exception I can think of have bred hens in front of me. They all kept their manners with very little if any training on my end

 

[LaFleche]

Roosters never let a subordinate roo mount hens in his presence, so if your rooster does so in front of you it's the same as saying "I'm the boss".

This would only apply in case you considered yourself to be another rooster and part of the flock.

As I am the human and as such not part of the flock, my roosters can mate to their hearts content and I don't care as long as the hens don't suffer.