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[Mr Rhode Island Red]

Two of my 23 week old Ancona cross cockerels are starting to get a bit rough with my hens

 

They seem to grab onto a hen first thing in the morning, when I let them out.

 

They may chase a hen around the run for a while until they manage to get her into a corner, and then will both try to mate with her at the same time. And they aren't light birds, and the hen doesn't appear to be too fond of carrying two kilogrammes x2 on her back

 

They appear to single out just a few hens.

 

My main concern is that the few hens that are being singled out, seem to be losing confidence about leaving the hen house. They are very hesitant to come out of the house in the morning, and have also started to run away from me as well, and don't like being picked up anymore

 

Are they going to start doing damage to my hens, or am I over reacting.

 

Any ideas to stop the cockerels from hurting my hens physically and hurting their confidence.

 

Thanks millions,

 

Mr Rhode Island Red

[percy049]

all cockerals chase to mate with hens first thing when theyre let out in the mornings. you could fit a poultry saddle to your hens if their backs are getting damaged. could you try spending more time with your girls and bribe with treats to get them tamer again?

 

http://omlet.co.uk/shop/shop.php?cat=Chicken+Keeping&sub=Anti-Pecks+and+Healing&product_id=4663&product_name=Chicken+Saddle+Medium+Quilted+Waxed

[Redwing]

I dont think you have enough hens to keep two cockerels busy and they will only get worse starting to compete against each other and its only a matter of time before a hen or one of the boys gets injured

 

Its worth thinking about rehoming one cockerel. The other should calm down a bit with less competition and as he matures

 

If you still get problems then you can restrict your boy's access to the girls by keeping him separately most of the time