My rooster

[BlueEggsAndHens]

My rooster is 9 week old.
I'm really wanting to keep him and I know they can become aggressive when they get older when he does peck at the hens it's gotten a bit more persistent and not just simple pecks it's becoming a bit more persistent and pecking their heads when I do see this I intervene and then he doesn't do it for a while
should I be worried? If so is there anything I can do to prevent this?
Thanks a lot

 

[Cheekychook12]

My rooster is 9 week old.
I'm really wanting to keep him and I know they can become aggressive when they get older when he does peck at the hens it's gotten a bit more persistent and not just simple pecks it's becoming a bit more persistent and pecking their heads when I do see this I intervene and then he doesn't do it for a while
should I be worried? If so is there anything I can do to prevent this?
Thanks a lot

I’m not an expert but if he’s bothering the hens I’d probably put him in a separate bachelor pen, if you have one

 

[BlueEggsAndHens]

I don't have a bachelor pen but if you think I should I will definitely get home.
So what are they?
Thanks a lot

 

[Cheekychook12]

I don't have a bachelor pen but if you think I should I will definitely get home.
So what are they?
Thanks a lot

Just a cage or pen to put roosters in while they mature, so they don’t pick on the pullets, if you only keep your pullets with your younger chicks they may get along better, still expect some pecking order squabbles though
You can keep multiple roosters in the bachelor pen if they get along, but if you do that keep the pullets out of sight until they are grown up
Also in the bachelor pen if they suddenly become aggressive they aren’t near the other birds
I have five 13 week old cockerels with my pullets and I’m about to separate them, though I’ll probably leave two in there because they are nice
This is my favourite roo, his name is Chonky boy

 

[Mrs. K]

No, really there is not much you can do. Very few people live with their chickens and the moment you are out of sight, you are out of mind. The brain in a chicken is pretty small.

Seldom do flock mate cockerels turn out, cockerel really have a slightly better chance of turning out good in a multigenerational flock, but that is not fool proof.

What you need is a plan B. Set up and ready to go. A dog crate, or small cage, a long sleeved sweatshirt, gloves and a 5 ft fishnet. This way if he becomes a nightmare you can capture him and separate him from the flock. That will give you time to decide what to do.

If he works out, great.

Mrs K

 

[aart]

My rooster is 9 week old.
I'm really wanting to keep him and I know they can become aggressive when they get older when he does peck at the hens it's gotten a bit more persistent and not just simple pecks it's becoming a bit more persistent and pecking their heads when I do see this I intervene and then he doesn't do it for a while
should I be worried? If so is there anything I can do to prevent this?
Thanks a lot

How old are the hens?
How big is the coop and run?
Dimensions and pics would help here.

 

[Ridgerunner]

My rooster is 9 week old.

An immature cockerel. Too young to tell how will turn out after he enters puberty, let alone after he finishes puberty.

I'm really wanting to keep him and I know they can become aggressive when they get older

He can become aggressive to humans or he could be a sweetheart. He could be a brute to the rest of the flock or he could take great care of them. I understand from some posts on here you might think every cockerel is doomed to be a monster. Some can, but many are not.

when he does peck at the hens it's gotten a bit more persistent and not just simple pecks it's becoming a bit more persistent and pecking their heads when I do see this I intervene and then he doesn't do it for a while
should I be worried?

I assume the "hens" are 9-week-old immature pullets. Nowhere close to puberty themselves.

I do not know how serious this pecking is. It could easily be him establishing dominance over them. Typical pecking order stuff and not serious. Nine weeks is old enough for that to happen.

But I have had a chick as young as 2 weeks kill a sibling by pecking a hole in their head. I don't know why he did that, but he did kill one and then started on another. I isolated him for a while and he stopped. So I know it is not always harmless.

If it were an occasional peck I would not be that concerned. If he stands there and is trying to drill a hole in their head it is dangerous. You are the one looking at it, this has to be your call.

If so is there anything I can do to prevent this?

They are old enough that they are fully feathered out, which means you don't have to worry about providing heat. That makes it easier. If you are concerned he is a danger and still want to keep him then house him in a separate coop/run next to the girls until they and he grow up. When a couple of the girls start laying you can let them join together. He will probably mate a couple of them and they become his flock, no big deal. But be prepared to separate him back out if it becomes too violent. You just don't know how they will turn out.

 

[BlueEggsAndHens]

How old are the hens?
How big is the coop and run?
Dimensions and pics would help here.

The hens are 9 weeks old.
They currently still live inside with me in a decent size pen due to complications with building their outside pen. I take them out everyday for basically the whole day.
And my phone doesn't like me posting pictures on backyard chickens for some reason

 

[aart]

decent size pen

How big is this in feet by feet?
Chances are crowding is the issue.