Unsecure chicken perches

[chuckmum6]

I haven't had a cockerel since I was 7 (many years ago) so I really can't remember how they begin to become in charge of a flock of bossy hens. My cockerel (home hatched) is still only a teenager at 16 weeks so I don't expect him to be able to sort my lot out. He and his sister are at the bottom of the pecking order, although it is an amicable pecking order, no one seems to need to peck or fight to get their rightful place. The other hens just give the growers a hard stare and that's it - so he isn't hen pecked. When will his natural male urge kick in? He does think about challenging as he raises up his neck feathers - but thinks better of it at the moment. When will he start to crow? Any top tips for cockerels welcome.

He is a silver pencilled wyandotte bantam and rather handsome!

Edited September 3, 2010 by Guest

[Redwing]

Dotte cockerels take a while to mature, it will be when he is about a year old that he will take proper charge but he will gradually work his way up the order as he grows