Does my rooster endanger my hens?

[ChickyMama1994]

Before I get ahead of myself and get off track I'm just gonna give some basic information.

I have 4 hens all about 3 months old
Ameraucana(Easter egger), Sapphire Gem, Gold Laced Wyandotte, Black Australorp.

I also have 1 rooster which I was told is a fibro(also Easter egger?)but I actually believe he may be a Jersey Giant as he's freaking huge already.

With that being said all the birds do okay together, they do free range from sun up to sun down and have 14 acres to wander but they like to keep to the front 4. the girls will go near the rooster but don't go out of their way to do so and i think its because in the mornings as soon as the girls come out of the coop he just chases them around the yard for no apparent reason but I assume it's his raging hormones and wanting to mate. My question is.... could my assumption be right? Or Is he trying to assert his position? Can he even mate with hens that are only 3 months? My biggest fear is the risk it could pose to my hens. They seem more on edge since he's been introduced to them but they seem to co-exist with eachother too. I'm just not sure what I'm doing here heeelppp

 

[fluffycrow]

How old is the male? Is he less than a year old? The pullets are unlikely to mate with him right now, you're correct. It does sound like he's trying to mate, something that's not unusual, since males mature quicker than females.

A mature rooster would know that young pullets won't be receptive to mating, so I'm assuming you've got a cockerel that has recently come into maturity on your hands. Some people prefer to separate the cockerels from the pullets until both have reached sexual maturity. It is definitely a way to keep the pullets safe, and stress free, until they are ready to mate. Personally, I don't do that much.

Much like you, I've free ranged for the majority of my chicken journey. I find that the pullets can, and will always stay away if they find a cockerel too much to deal with. That being said, my group usually has more than one generation free ranging, and the cockerels do get reprimanded from the senior hens throughout the day.

Since yours was only recently introduced to the pullets, he might also be trying to establish some dominance on top of trying to mate.

Whether you separate the male from your pullets is your call, my only piece of advice is to observe you pullets and make your choice based on what they are telling you.

From my understanding, it seems like they have a lot of land to get away from him, but choose to tolerate him to some degree. If this behaviour worsens, and they start showing signs of stress, or dart if he gets too close to them, or even refuse to fly down from perches when he's around, then it might be time to reevaluate

 

[LaurenRitz]

He can certainly try. They won't be receptive until they're close to mating age, though, so he'll either start forcing his attentions on them or get increasingly frustrated.

With an adolescent rooster that can get dangerous for the pullets. If it were me I would separate him until they reach sexual maturity.