The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: wannabesmallholder on May 29, 2018, 08:24:34 am
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We have 1 cockerel with 5 hens. We had one with an unexplained eye injury a couple of weeks ago and another that was pecked and bullied terribly, so much so that she is now isolated. I noticed this morning the cockerel really going after the injured eye hen- pecking her and chasing her off the food. Am wondering now whether it’s him doing the damage.
Is this normal cockerel behaviour? Should we get rid of him? I thought cockerels were supposed to make the girls nicer to each other but it seems he’s the bully!
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Put the pecked hen in with the bullied one for now. You may find another hen then gets bullied. Observe carefully who is actually doing the bullying - the cock could just be going for an already damaged eye. Spend as long as you can watching your hens to establish just what's going on.
I've not had a cock behave like that and if you are sure it's him then yes, into the pot he goes. It will nonetheless take a while for your little flock to settle down together and reestablish the pecking order. Once the injured one has healed, they just have to work it out amongst themselves, which they will do. The hen at the bottom of the pile just learns to run faster. Establishing a pecking order is natural behaviour.
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Do be careful with regards to chickens and injuries, as they can be very aggressive towards each other if there are any signs of blood on any bird, I always isolate until healed completely. Unfortunetley, there is always one at the bottom of the pecking order, sadly.
Make sure there is enough space so that they can get out of the way of one another, I have logs, so they can hop up out of the way, when not running around they yard.
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Ok so I have been observing carefully the last few days. He seems to grab them by the head when trying to mount them. I can see easily how that would cause an eye injury.
Is this normal for a cockerel or has he got poor technique and should go?
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We have a cockerel in with 21 hens, he is less aggressive now he has more hens but I've also noted he's let the whole courtship thing slide and just jumps them when they aren't looking!
He does bully one hen though. For some reason she is partially blind (can see large shadows so chases after us for corn, but doesn't always see the corn when you drop it and can trip over things). If he sees her by the feeders he chases her or gives her a couple of sharp pecks. I assume he thinks she is liability, not very likely to pass on his genes and thus 'his' resources (food, water etc) are best saved for the hens in good condition. Weeding the rubbish out of his flock I guess. If your hen is bottom of the pecking order he may be reacting to that, deciding she is not worth it anymore.
Our does grab by the head (And pull quite hard if the resist). There may well be more patient cockerels out there. If you're unhappy with him change him. Ours is good with the girls in all other respects and he produces some wonderfully meaty offspring so we are keeping him around but at 3 years old we are keeping an eye out for replacements.
Dans
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Thanks [member=25651]Dans[/member] - useful advice. We’ve never had cockerels before, so just didn’t know what to expect. He does seem particularly rough with the girls and I’m sure must have caused at least one, if not both injuries we’ve seen.
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No problem. Our cockerel has taken the feathers off the backs of a few of our chickens, more so when we only had 6 girls for him, but we haven't had to use any saddles or spray anyone's backs in the last two years (had to the first year). He hasn't injured anyone either. If he keeps injuring the hens then a more docile one may well be the way to go. Good luck.
Dans