over zealous rooster ??? hens running ????

[arnr1530]

the past couple of days i have noticed my roo has been a little over the top with his mating to the point that in the morning when i let him out the girls dont want to come out fo the coop cause he trys to grab them and they cant walk around the pen without him trying..... and they are not having it they will submit here and there but mostly up away from him when i elt them out to free range he is still trying to get them and they run away...... im not sure what to do but he just seems to be acting like to much for them and i thnk it has them stressed they just started laying last wk and i was getting an egg from my brahmas one everyday since they started and my RIR one every other day so i was getting 2 a day but yesterday non of the brahmas laid and im nervous they arent gonna lay today either he is all about the brahmas and not the RIR i really hope someone can help me control his crazy butt..... i am getting ready to put my two new ones right next to them today adn build a much bigger coop today but im nervous to put him in with 6 hens ????

are my hens just not on a laying schedule enough for me to be worried yet ? i even put water bottles in the nesting boxes that are frozen and in the run and i made an ice block with fruit frozen in it!!!

 

[Chick Charm]

Everything sounds perfectly normal.

The pullets sporadic laying is due to their age not the rooster. It will take a month or two for them to iron out their laying cycle.

Wish ya the best.

 

[Ridgerunner]

What you are describing doesn’t sound all that strange to me with them at that age. Are you familiar with a regular mating ritual? The rooster dances to signal his intentions, the hen squats to get her body on the ground so his weight does not go through her legs, the rooster hops on and grabs the back of her head (That head grab is her signal to raise her tail out of the way so he can hit the target), he touches vents and hops off, then the hen stands up, fluffs up, and shakes to get the sperm in the right place.

There are a lot of possible variations of this that involve her trying to run away and him chasing, but as long as she squats to spread his weight, it generally works out pretty well. Occasionally you get a real brute of a rooster that just never learns proper technique or how to be a desirable mate. Occasionally you get a hen that just won’t submit. These can cause problems. Both have to do their part. It’s not always just the rooster.

I suspect a really big part of your problem is their age. They are still kids, just adolescents. The rooster is running on full hormone load. He probably hasn’t matured enough to learn to control those urges and very possibly doesn’t have the proper technique down. Although they may be laying, those pullets may not have matured enough to do their part, so they resist.

There is more to it than that. A good dominant rooster has a lot of flock responsibilities. He not only should dance for the hens instead of just hop on, he needs to find them food and let them have the good bits first. He needs to break up fights and keep peace in his flock. He needs to watch for danger and give them warnings. Often a good rooster will help a broody take care of her chicks. He needs to take care of his flock. He also needs to dominate the hens just with the force of his magnificence. I’ve had a 4 month old cockerel that could do that, but that is extremely rare. It usually takes longer, maybe until they are a full year old to get it right, though most are faster than that. Some hens will squat for anything in spurs but many, especially when they mature a bit, expect a rooster to earn their respect before they submit.

In a flock with an old mature dominant rooster and older mature hens, the dominant rooster will let the young boys know they are not at the top of the heap. Sometimes they run him ragged keeping peace in his flock. Mature hens will often school a young cockerel in the proper ways to treat a lady by smacking him around when he gets fresh. It’s still a frenzied time when those young boys are growing up, but your flock doesn’t have that advantage of older chickens to help teach the boys. Yours just have to go by instinct alone, the cockerel and the pullets.

I know this is long and rambling, but there is more. The mating ritual is not just about sex. It’s also about dominance. The one on bottom is accepting the dominance of the one on top, whether willingly or by force. For a flock master to do his duties, he has to be the dominant chicken. How can he break up fights if the others might just beat the crap out of him? While a good part of the mating is sexual, a good part of it is just him establishing his dominance over the flock.

It’s also very normal for a rooster to mate a few hens first thing in the morning, even a mature rooster. It’s to show them that he is still the dominant one as much as it is sexual. The same thing will happen if you take him away from the flock for a while then put him back. He will normally immediately mate with a hen to show he is still he boss. Or if you take a hen away for a bit and put her back, he’ll often welcome her back by mating her.

It is always possible you do have a problem, but I think it is something they will grow out of as the cockerel and the pullets mature. It can be rough for you watching them if you can’t accept chickens being chickens. I’ll mention the only real reason you need a rooster is if you want fertile eggs. Any other reason to have a rooster is really just personal preference.

Good luck!

 

[liljunie]

I also have an adolescent roo that is a little rough in the morning, but otherwise doesn't bother the hens too much. First thing in the morning the hens do not want to come down the ramp because he ambushes the smaller ones. He seems to leave the bigger hens alone. I leaned some branches against the wire close to the bottom of the ramp so the hens can hide if they choose. My roo is impressively fertile at less than 7 months old, maybe that is why he is so "randy"!

 

[duckinnut]

What you are describing doesn’t sound all that strange to me with them at that age. Are you familiar with a regular mating ritual? The rooster dances to signal his intentions, the hen squats to get her body on the ground so his weight does not go through her legs, the rooster hops on and grabs the back of her head (That head grab is her signal to raise her tail out of the way so he can hit the target), he touches vents and hops off, then the hen stands up, fluffs up, and shakes to get the sperm in the right place.

There are a lot of possible variations of this that involve her trying to run away and him chasing, but as long as she squats to spread his weight, it generally works out pretty well. Occasionally you get a real brute of a rooster that just never learns proper technique or how to be a desirable mate. Occasionally you get a hen that just won’t submit. These can cause problems. Both have to do their part. It’s not always just the rooster.

I suspect a really big part of your problem is their age. They are still kids, just adolescents. The rooster is running on full hormone load. He probably hasn’t matured enough to learn to control those urges and very possibly doesn’t have the proper technique down. Although they may be laying, those pullets may not have matured enough to do their part, so they resist.

There is more to it than that. A good dominant rooster has a lot of flock responsibilities. He not only should dance for the hens instead of just hop on, he needs to find them food and let them have the good bits first. He needs to break up fights and keep peace in his flock. He needs to watch for danger and give them warnings. Often a good rooster will help a broody take care of her chicks. He needs to take care of his flock. He also needs to dominate the hens just with the force of his magnificence. I’ve had a 4 month old cockerel that could do that, but that is extremely rare. It usually takes longer, maybe until they are a full year old to get it right, though most are faster than that. Some hens will squat for anything in spurs but many, especially when they mature a bit, expect a rooster to earn their respect before they submit.

In a flock with an old mature dominant rooster and older mature hens, the dominant rooster will let the young boys know they are not at the top of the heap. Sometimes they run him ragged keeping peace in his flock. Mature hens will often school a young cockerel in the proper ways to treat a lady by smacking him around when he gets fresh. It’s still a frenzied time when those young boys are growing up, but your flock doesn’t have that advantage of older chickens to help teach the boys. Yours just have to go by instinct alone, the cockerel and the pullets.

I know this is long and rambling, but there is more. The mating ritual is not just about sex. It’s also about dominance. The one on bottom is accepting the dominance of the one on top, whether willingly or by force. For a flock master to do his duties, he has to be the dominant chicken. How can he break up fights if the others might just beat the crap out of him? While a good part of the mating is sexual, a good part of it is just him establishing his dominance over the flock.

It’s also very normal for a rooster to mate a few hens first thing in the morning, even a mature rooster. It’s to show them that he is still the dominant one as much as it is sexual. The same thing will happen if you take him away from the flock for a while then put him back. He will normally immediately mate with a hen to show he is still he boss. Or if you take a hen away for a bit and put her back, he’ll often welcome her back by mating her.

It is always possible you do have a problem, but I think it is something they will grow out of as the cockerel and the pullets mature. It can be rough for you watching them if you can’t accept chickens being chickens. I’ll mention the only real reason you need a rooster is if you want fertile eggs. Any other reason to have a rooster is really just personal preference.

Good luck!

I will second that.

 

[duckinnut]

I had pick up an 8 month old cockeral last year. Where he came from he was #3 on the depth chart as well as young so he didn't get a lot of hen time. Until he came here. He was in with 15 hens and his excitement showed. He would chase them down like a cheetah on gazelle. But since has aged and matured and does his dance. He beat up the girls in the beginning and they showed it. My Austrolorps still refuse to submit to him but the others do and don't have a feather out of place. Be patient as it will pass all the teenage hormones. Good Luck

 

[Kasey]

My young rooster was very aggressive with the pullets at first but as the days go on they both get better and better about doing their parts as mentioned above. Now I hardly even hear a squawk when he mates them.

Also, how many hens do you have in with him?

 

[arnr1530]

My young rooster was very aggressive with the pullets at first but as the days go on they both get better and better about doing their parts as mentioned above. Now I hardly even hear a squawk when he mates them.

Also, how many hens do you have in with him?

Yea one doesn't really squawk at all but the others oh my oh my I have currently 4 with him but will have 6 by Sunday with him???? Is that bad ??

 

[Chick Charm]

He could do with some more hens. It's better to have more hens than 4 with most Roos. I have 1 roo to 9 hens currently and I like this ratio.

 

[arnr1530]

i am putting 2 more hens in with him on sunday along with a bigger coop!!
thank yall so much for your help!!