Chicken bald back

[MillyJude]

Reggie is a brahma roo, about 9 months old, we have had him a couple if months but up till now he has not shown any "cockerel behaviour"

 

He is our first boy, so i wanted to check if this was all normal -

 

He has started chasing the girls when he first comes out of the coop in the morning, trying to grab them by the neck feathers. Is he being mean or trying to hump them?

 

They run away and wont crouch for him, is this normal at first? I think they think he is a right pest at the moment.

 

Will it all settle down once they get used to him and he works out what he is doing?

 

Thanks

[sjp]

yes typical teenage cockerel behaviour the little sods aren't born with manners so their first attempts of doing boy girl type of things is normally the hit and run approach I find it helps if you have a strong will girl in the group to knock him about a bit it's the only way he'll learn it should get better as the girls come into lay and start to see him as provider and protector and he learns that he's boss in name only. I was lucky with Boris my main lad as he was a nice guy as he grew up (he was hatched by my first broody so my mob all knew him and most liked him the top girl at the time was head over heels for him) also my gold legbar was and is a hard knock and belted him the first morning he was in with the full time and he had the sense to know his place in the pecking order sadly he son I kept from 2012 and the lad I've replaced him with from last year are to stupid to learn that lesson

[The Dogmother]

Yep, typical teenage male behaviour; they aren't really good at the niceties of courtship at that stage - they will sort themselves out, but in the meantime, he'll be frustrated!

[MillyJude]

Thanks for your replies, i was worried we had a nasty boy.

 

The reason we got a Brahma was so he looked scary to any circling birds of prey, but was actually docile and friendly, so hopefully he will be fine when he matures a bit.

 

Otherwise it will be a nightmare, cant have a vicious emu in the garden

[Patricia W]

He may go through a phase of "attacking " people as he develops. Nip it in the bud, by picking him up and walking around with him. Don't use aggression back against him, as he will just see it as a game. You need to establish who is boss.