The girls are all crazy with the Rooster

So we got two chicks a few months ago, blue/black splash Isbars. One all black and one all white (at the time), so my husband says, let's name them Bonnie & Clyde. Well Clyde ends up BEING A "CLYDE" aka ROO! Then as one of my hens went broody a few weeks ago (eggs due to hatch today), I hear it's possible this occurred due to my (at the time) 12 week Roo. Well after watching him, yes, he was mounting my entire flock. He is as sweet as they could possibly come though. Sits next to me, eat out of my kids hands and let's them hold him, loves our dog. He's extremely sweet to the girls and is inseparable with Bonnie, however now my Maran went broody, only I kicked her out of the box and took the eggs and she was over it quick. Hasn't tried again since. My flock leader though, she's a loud mean one who I love dearly, a lot like this mama haha, isn't having it! They are doing a "Raised Feather Off" almost daily! Given he is a good boy do I separate my grumpy flock leader for a few days or the Rooster who's sweet as can be? She is no longer allowing Bonnie in the coop as of two days ago, so she is now sleeping on top of the coop with Clyde..not sure what to do here.

I think I would separate the hen if she isn't letting others in the coop. Just for a couple days, within sight and sound of the rest, and see if that helps. How old is she (flock leader)?

TheKindaFarmGal said:

I think I would separate the hen if she isn't letting others in the coop. Just for a couple days, within sight and sound of the rest, and see if that helps. How old is she (flock leader)?

Click to expand...

She is 11 months old. And mean lol! All the girls squat, but not her. And she is still not allowing my little pullet inside the coop. :/ So seperating her (keeping her in a pen) temporarily, should calm her down? How long do I do this for should there be no progress after a two day time out?

How long have your 12 week olds been with the flock? Is the pullet the only one she is especially mean to, as in blocking her from the coop? It isn't really possible to know for certain if it will help or not. Every chicken is different.

If giving her the two day time out doesn't help, maybe you could separate her for a week away from the others, not within sight and sound. When she comes back, they might try to change the pecking order because she has been gone for a while.

Well the 12 weeks old pullets are actually 16 weeks today. And she is mean to everyone whenever she feels like it, nothing brutal but some pecks and screeching. From time to time she makes the girls line up at the coop and wait well into the night before letting them in. Most recently it's just the rooster and pullet she isn't allowing in. And since the Roo and pullet are inseparable, he always protects her. I don't think she dares go into the coop without him.

How many birds do you have in that little coop?

junebuggena said:

How many birds do you have in that little coop?

Click to expand...

That's my question as well. Are they roosting in there? If so, looks like maybe room for 4 birds at the most.

carlf said:

That's my question as well. Are they roosting in there? If so, looks like maybe room for 4 birds at the most.

Click to expand...

Yes it seems they are. The coop is for 4-6 hens, and even when they are all in there, there's room.

And there's two coops, they just all prefer that one so my broody has the other to herself right now.

jlovepj1027 said:

Yes it seems they are. The coop is for 4-6 hens, and even when they are all in there, there's room.

Click to expand...

That coop is not large enough for 4-6. If that's the manufacturer recommendation, reduce it by half. They always over estimate the coop capacity. They use commercial, battery cage estimates. The average leghorn sized breed needs about 4 sq ft per bird. The average dual-purpose breed needs about 5 sq ft. That coop is barely big enough for 2 adult large breed hens. No wonder your hen is being territorial about other birds coming into 'her' coop. It's too small.