Help with rooster problem!

[Traffie Chickens]

Hi everyone! My cockerel has been mounting the hens for only about 3 weeks now, and he is grabbing the hens combs instead of the feathers. I have white leghorns with those big floppy combs, and they are all scabbed and bloody because of him. What should I do? I think it isn’t from over mating because there are 7 other hens. But I don’t want all of my leghorns to have bloody scabby combs.

 

[Traffie Chickens]

And I would get pics, but I just sprayed blue coat on their combs,

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'll copy something I wrote a few years ago to give you an idea of what is kind of going on and what to expect in the future. But this is written for adults. You don't have adults, you have an immature cockerel and immature pullets.

Mating Between Consenting Adults

1. The rooster dances to show his intentions. He lowers a wing and sort of sidesteps around the hen.

2. The hen squats. This gets her body on the ground so the rooster's weight goes into the ground through her body instead of just her legs. Most roosters of the same breed as the hen are heavier than the hen so the squat is nature's way of protecting her legs and joints.

3. The rooster hops on and grabs the back of her head. This head grab helps line him up right and helps him keep his balance, but the main purpose is to tell her to raise her tail up out of the way so he can hit the target. Without the head grab he would not be able to get to the target so there would be no fertile eggs.

4. The rooster touches her vent with his. That deposits the sperm. This may take a couple of seconds or may be over in a flash.

5. The rooster hops off, his part is done. The hen stands up, fluffs up her feathers, and shakes. This fluffy shake gets the sperm in a special container where it can stay viable from a week to maybe three weeks.

It doesn't always go this way between adults. Sometimes the rooster does not dance but just grabs and hops on. No harm no foul, but it shows he does not have the self-confidence he should. Sometimes the hen runs away instead of squatting. The rooster may let her go or he may give chase. If he chases the hen may squat, she just wanted to know he was serious. He may stop the chase pretty quickly and let her go. He may chase her down and force her. As long as she squats and is not injured it's all OK. Even when he forces her it is usually not very violent.

The girls are probably not cooperating at all. He probably is chasing them down and forcing them. He forces them by grabbing the back of their head. Proper technique would be to grab feathers, not the comb. But he is grabbing the comb and cutting it with his beak. When he is forcing like this he could pull the feathers out of their head and lave a bald spot, which he could cut with his beak when he grabs that.

When the girls mature enough they should start cooperating and squatting instead of trying to run away. But he would have to mature enough to act like a competent flock master before they respect him enough to do that. Eventually he should be able to win them over with his maturity and magnificence. But he is not there yet. He depends on brute force, not magnificence and charm.

A lot of cockerels literally lose their head at this stage. They are eaten. This behavior can be very hard to watch. If none are being injured I let mine go. I consider it part of them growing up. But yours are being injured and bleeding. If you decide to keep him I'd isolate him so he cannot injure them. Most of my cockerels seem to get the hormones under control by around 7 months and many of the pullets are laying by then so they are more ready to accept a male's attentions. Exact age can vary so try it and see what happens.

Another option is to get rid of him and when most of the girls are laying bring in a more mature boy. That usually works well. Or you may decide you really don't want a rooster.

Good luck!

 

[Traffie Chickens]

I'll copy something I wrote a few years ago to give you an idea of what is kind of going on and what to expect in the future. But this is written for adults. You don't have adults, you have an immature cockerel and immature pullets.

Mating Between Consenting Adults

1. The rooster dances to show his intentions. He lowers a wing and sort of sidesteps around the hen.

2. The hen squats. This gets her body on the ground so the rooster's weight goes into the ground through her body instead of just her legs. Most roosters of the same breed as the hen are heavier than the hen so the squat is nature's way of protecting her legs and joints.

3. The rooster hops on and grabs the back of her head. This head grab helps line him up right and helps him keep his balance, but the main purpose is to tell her to raise her tail up out of the way so he can hit the target. Without the head grab he would not be able to get to the target so there would be no fertile eggs.

4. The rooster touches her vent with his. That deposits the sperm. This may take a couple of seconds or may be over in a flash.

5. The rooster hops off, his part is done. The hen stands up, fluffs up her feathers, and shakes. This fluffy shake gets the sperm in a special container where it can stay viable from a week to maybe three weeks.

It doesn't always go this way between adults. Sometimes the rooster does not dance but just grabs and hops on. No harm no foul, but it shows he does not have the self-confidence he should. Sometimes the hen runs away instead of squatting. The rooster may let her go or he may give chase. If he chases the hen may squat, she just wanted to know he was serious. He may stop the chase pretty quickly and let her go. He may chase her down and force her. As long as she squats and is not injured it's all OK. Even when he forces her it is usually not very violent.

The girls are probably not cooperating at all. He probably is chasing them down and forcing them. He forces them by grabbing the back of their head. Proper technique would be to grab feathers, not the comb. But he is grabbing the comb and cutting it with his beak. When he is forcing like this he could pull the feathers out of their head and lave a bald spot, which he could cut with his beak when he grabs that.

When the girls mature enough they should start cooperating and squatting instead of trying to run away. But he would have to mature enough to act like a competent flock master before they respect him enough to do that. Eventually he should be able to win them over with his maturity and magnificence. But he is not there yet. He depends on brute force, not magnificence and charm.

A lot of cockerels literally lose their head at this stage. They are eaten. This behavior can be very hard to watch. If none are being injured I let mine go. I consider it part of them growing up. But yours are being injured and bleeding. If you decide to keep him I'd isolate him so he cannot injure them. Most of my cockerels seem to get the hormones under control by around 7 months and many of the pullets are laying by then so they are more ready to accept a male's attentions. Exact age can vary so try it and see what happens.

Another option is to get rid of him and when most of the girls are laying bring in a more mature boy. That usually works well. Or you may decide you really don't want a rooster.

Good luck!

So actually, my hens are over a year old and are laying. But the rooster is new and young, I hatched him along with one pullet and introduced them in with the older ladies.
(Only about 2 of the hens squat, these are the ones with the worst combs) but the others either run away, or don’t put up with it, and go after him. But they do squat when I pick them up.

 

[Traffie Chickens]

The cockerel and pullet are about 4 or 5 months old.

 

[Ridgerunner]

So actually, my hens are over a year old and are laying. But the rooster is new and young, I hatched him along with one pullet and introduced them in with the older ladies.
(Only about 2 of the hens squat, these are the ones with the worst combs) but the others either run away, or don’t put up with it, and go after him. But they do squat when I pick them up.

That is new information and explains some things. He is a snotty little brat that they have no respect for. Mature hens often want a respectable father for their chicks. He is not acting respectable at all. And his technique is bad since the two that squat are the worst. Hopefully it will improve with time.

I'd still suggest isolating him for a couple of months to give him a chance to mature into acceptable behavior.