16 week BCM cockerel very mature behavior

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

I hatched this handsome little bugger 3/18, making him 16 weeks old and is my first Black Copper Marans.

This boy is SOOO rooster-y. He behaves like a fully mature rooster. Is that typical of BCMs? Do they mature faster than other breeds? At around 3 months, I had to separate him from the main flock. My older roo began running him off, and then some of my bitchier ladies would join in and attack him. (My roo never attacked him- just ran him off, then the adult hens would attack). At that point I hadn’t observed him acting rooster-ish at all.

He now resides with 2 same age pullets (a RIR & an Orpington mix) who are not nearly mature enough for his antics. He is also with a mature dominant hen who he tries to mate with when he can catch her off guard. He actually mates with the mature hen. With the pullets, he looks more to be attacking them. He also is becoming obsessive about the hens and pullets in the main flock, who he is separated from by a fence. He’ll pace the fence trying to get to them, rush the fence, etc… until the big roo runs him off.

I know he’s just a youngster and figuring things out. I don’t mind. Ultimately he’ll have his own flock away from the main flock. However between the coop build taking a little longer than expected, and him acting all roosterish earlier than expected, he’s in a temporary set up that works but is not ideal. My previous roosters never started this kind of behavior quite this early, and usually they didn’t mess with the pullets until they were around 6 months of age and closer to laying.


This is him at 14 weeks.

I guess I’m just curious if this is typical or not. Interestingly, I sold the other BCM chicks that hatched with him. The woman I sold 2 of them to posted pics on a FB group inquiring about gender when they were 9 weeks old, and multiple people who commented on her post told her that the birds appeared to be much older than she thought they were.

If maturing quickly isn’t a typical trait of BCM, is it possible just these bloodlines mature quickly? The eggs came from a small local farm. I don’t know anything about their breeding practices, but I assume they are better quality than hatchery birds, which most of my others are. I highly doubt he’s mixed with anything. What are your thoughts?

He is 9 weeks in this last photo.

 

[andresthechickenlover123]

hes definetly a rooster some rooster tend to mature muck faster than other i had a rooster that started maturing a 10 to 11 weeks old

 

[Mrs. K]

I would get the pullets out. Just have mature hens with him, adding a few more mature hens to him, might settle him down. He is a beauty.

I do think if you would have left him with the other group, you would have rooster fighting. Maybe a large piece of cardboard between the pens to block off the sight of the other birds?

Mrs K

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

I have an accidental BCM cockerel (I am not zoned for roosters) and he has been running off the older gals and hanging out with his crew. He hardly crows, has not shown any aggression and had me thinking, should I keep him?

But the answer is no, although I am willing to skirt the law and have a roo, he is not what I would pick if I was going down that road.

I may get cream legbars in the spring and add a boy, I like the idea of sexing them by sight day one.

Now I just need to do the deed and kill Ricky the rooster, it sucks but he should never have come to me to begin with. I am pretty disappointed in Meyers this year, between the losses, a blue copper marans with some sort of extra nose looking deformity and now Ricky I will only have 4 out of 10 left from the spring delivery and that includes me keeping the weird nosed one.

There is always next spring...

 

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

I have an accidental BCM cockerel (I am not zoned for roosters) and he has been running off the older gals and hanging out with his crew. He hardly crows, has not shown any aggression and had me thinking, should I keep him?

But the answer is no, although I am willing to skirt the law and have a roo, he is not what I would pick if I was going down that road.

I may get cream legbars in the spring and add a boy, I like the idea of sexing them by sight day one.

Now I just need to do the deed and kill Ricky the rooster, it sucks but he should never have come to me to begin with. I am pretty disappointed in Meyers this year, between the losses, a blue copper marans with some sort of extra nose looking deformity and now Ricky I will only have 4 out of 10 left from the spring delivery and that includes me keeping the weird nosed one.

There is always next spring...

That sounds like a lot of losses. What a shame!

How old is your BCM cockerel? Does he try to mate with his crew?

 

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

I would get the pullets out. Just have mature hens with him, adding a few more mature hens to him, might settle him down. He is a beauty.

I do think if you would have left him with the other group, you would have rooster fighting. Maybe a large piece of cardboard between the pens to block off the sight of the other birds?

Mrs K

So I went on vacation for a week, and it seems he and the pullets have worked it out. They’d grown pretty scared of him for a few days, but now seems peaceful. Interestingly, I haven’t seen him try to mate with them since I’ve been home, but Hubs informed me that he’s officially “conquered” the mature hen so maybe that’s why.

At the moment I have too much fence line to give a visual block. We’re going to angle his enclosure differently this weekend and that might help. He’s definitely interested in all the hens in the main flock, but he mostly tries to get to the pullets even younger than himself. He’s approaching 18 weeks now and he desperately wants to hook up with the 10-week old pullets. I hope he’s not a pedophile…

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

Does he try to mate with his crew?

I am not sure if he is mating, they are from april 1 hatch. Tonights the night I am plucking him off the roost and doing the deed.