farleighgirl Posted November 16, 2017 Share Posted November 16, 2017 I am a newbie on here so hi everyone! I have a small flock of 5 in a large enclosure, a mix of fancy bantams. My Polish rooster has been demoted by my Appenzeller-Spitzhauben hen. The silkies and pekin now follow her and my poor boy has become a bit of a loner. She started crowing a couple of months back much to my surprise - I thought at first that he has a sore throat!! Anyway, in one respect not a problem because I don't want to breed. He was bought as a hen but mis sexed but I kept him anyway. He doesn't fertilise any eggs really. Maybe one in a couple of dozen if that. So what do I do to restore the status quo and gain him a little more respect please? They are in a very large space for their size. There is room for a couple more hens and they would still have a lot of room. Would that mix things up a bit? Looking forward to your responses! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted November 16, 2017 Share Posted November 16, 2017 This is a new one for me Farleighgirl. Quite normal for a new young cockerel to be rejected by an established flock of hens, but not for a cockerel to be 'overthrown' by the dominant hen. Splitting the flock and re-introducing the hens is a complex process and needs the facilities to do it, so not worth mentioning. However you could try what we did with a young cockerel and feed all treats only to him, allowing him to make 'foody noises' and call the hens over. He will then gain their respect as the food provider. However it may be he simply isn't up to the job and the dominant hen throws him off the food and then calls the hens over, but it's worth a try. Crowing hens isn't unusual in happy pet flocks at all; we have two at the moment, but have had up to six, even with cocks present and the hens were laying. In commercial environments it is very rare and involves ovary damage causing a surge in testosterone. They stop laying, grow large combs and wattles, crow and tread hens, so appearing to change sex completely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farleighgirl Posted November 16, 2017 Author Share Posted November 16, 2017 Thankyou beantree. I am pleased that at least they are not aggressive towards him. They just ignore the poor fella.They are all the same age and were put together at the same time. I will definitely try the foody thing and let you know how I go!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted November 16, 2017 Share Posted November 16, 2017 it could just be because their moulting and the top hen has took the opportunity to take control of the flock while the lad is feeling sorry for himself. Not something I've come across. I doubt you can restore the order, and as long as he's not taking a beating every day I'd just leave them to sort things out. once the days start to lengthen and the girls are laying again things could well change again none of my lads have ever had much control over the girls but they've always had a few 'followers' and a couple of favorites but they can spend a lot of the day on their own but their happy with their place in life. so I just let them get on with life Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farleighgirl Posted November 16, 2017 Author Share Posted November 16, 2017 Thank you sjp. Will watch and see what happens. Have directed the food at him today and will continue with that also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
