Mean rooster

[ChickenTenderNewbie]

I have 4 month old chickens. Is it normal for the rooster to grab the girls by the neck and rip their feathers out? Or drag them around? They are never doing anything wrong he just does it for no reason. They are not mating. He just hurts them and walks off like nothing happened.

 

[Debbie292d]

Must be a young rooster? He's probably showing them he's the boss, but that's pretty rough. When cockerel's hormones are peaking they sometimes do crazy stuff. I'd pen him up away from them for a week or so. That usually fixes a mean hen, but with him, it may not until he gets past that stage.

 

[sourland]

A cockerel with raging testosterone. If you intend to keep him, I would suggest removing him from the flock until the pullets mature and are sexually receptive. In an established flock situation the flock rooster and mature hens would be educating him about proper behavior.

 

[ChickenTenderNewbie]

Must be a young rooster? He's probably showing them he's the boss, but that's pretty rough. When cockerel's hormones are peaking they sometimes do crazy stuff. I'd pen him up away from them for a week or so. That usually fixes a mean hen, but with him, it may not until he gets past that stage.

Yes he is 4 months old. At first I thought he was trying to assert his dominance but the amount he is doing it is concerning me. Especially since he is ripping out their feathers each time. These are my first chickens so I wasn't sure what is normal and what's not.

 

[The Moonshiner]

I'd get rid of him myself. Does it happen? Yes. Would I call it normal behavior? No.
Plenty of cockerels aren't that aggressive. I'd look for one of them instead of the time will tell approach.

 

[ChickenTenderNewbie]

A cockerel with raging testosterone. If you intend to keep him, I would suggest removing him from the flock until the pullets mature and are sexually receptive. In an established flock situation the flock rooster and mature hens would be educating him about proper behavior.

I was still considering my options but leaning towards not. Unfortunately I have no way of keeping him separated so might just have to find him a new home. Thank you for your response.

 

[Debbie292d]

Yes he is 4 months old. At first I thought he was trying to assert his dominance but the amount he is doing it is concerning me. Especially since he is ripping out their feathers each time. These are my first chickens so I wasn't sure what is normal and what's not.

I didn't take it at first that he was their "sibling" and was thinking it was a different, older one. This makes even more sense. That's the stage of hormones for some breeds and it can take weeks or even months for them to grow out of them. This doesn't mean he's always going to be a brutal rooster as most grow up to be wonderful roosters. It just takes patience and some time.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Do you really need a rooster? Do you plan to hatch chicks? If not .... why keep him in hopes that weeks or months from now he MIGHT get over being a jerk?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Do you really need a rooster? Do you plan to hatch chicks? If not .... why keep him in hopes that weeks or months from now he MIGHT get over being a jerk?

... and if you do need a rooster, there are plenty of good ones out there, going crying to go free to a good home, because someone has more than they need.

 

[Altairsky]

If you need a rooster for fertile eggs and you don't want to get an adult one and have to do all the quarantine stuff, and you want to try to fix your current cockerel, try to put some vicks vaporub on the hens comb and head (where you see the rooster pecking). It tastes so bad that he should learn not to do it.
My cockerel didn't know how to mate, so he used to bite the hens comb until they bled. Fixed in 2 days with the vicks vaporub method. Now he's 1.5 years old and he's a true gentleman with the ladies.
Might not work for every cockerel, but it's inexpensive to try.