Overly attractive hen?

Hey guys!

I have 15 Easter Egger chickens, 9 pullets and 6 cockerels, all 5 months old. I have one pullet, Dipp, whom the boys find absolutely irresistible and have found her such since they were only 3 months old. When they were younger it wasn't much of a problem, but now they are older and more capable of causing damage. I plan on butchering 4 of my boys within the week and I'm hoping that will help, but I'm still nervous about how the 2 I'm keeping will treat her. I'm guessing that maybe Dipp is maturing early and thus giving off pheromones that attract the boys, and/or that they've all decided that she's their favorite and thus compete for her.

So I guess what I'm asking is does anyone have a better idea as to why the heck Dipp is so irresistible and is there anything more I can do to help keep the boys off her back while still letting her be a part of the flock? Has anyone else had experience with an 'irresistible' hen?

Thanks,
Lee

Is she the lowest in the pecking order?

With a flock of that size, I'd only keep one roo. Cockrels are capable of ganging up on a single pullet and killing her in their hormonal driven lust. And after they kill that gal, they most likely will pick out an other one to gang up on. I strongly recommend that you remove the cockrels from the area where the pullets are, even if you have to put up temporary housing. My roo easily keeps 24 hens fertilized.

limited25 said:

Is she the lowest in the pecking order?

Click to expand...

I know which hen is the highest, but I'm not yet sure who is lowest. She may very well be at the bottom, but I've not noticed any particular differences in how she is treated by the other hens.

lazy gardener said:

With a flock of that size, I'd only keep one roo. Cockrels are capable of ganging up on a single pullet and killing her in their hormonal driven lust. And after they kill that gal, they most likely will pick out an other one to gang up on. I strongly recommend that you remove the cockrels from the area where the pullets are, even if you have to put up temporary housing. My roo easily keeps 24 hens fertilized.

Click to expand...

Is it not possible to keep more than one? I have two cockerels that I wish to keep for breeding purposes and one is submissive to the other. I've not had any cock fights as of yet with all six cockerels kept together with the pullets, and very soon it will become just two. If I must, I will make a choice, but I will do so with difficulty.

SammyLee said:

I know which hen is the highest, but I'm not yet sure who is lowest. She may very well be at the bottom, but I've not noticed any particular differences in how she is treated by the other hens.

Click to expand...

Just thought that because my lowest in the pecking order got bred the most. The other hens also made sure she was the first out of the coop .... until we intervened. We only have one rooster, had 4 hens (but re-homed one because she was a habitual feather picker) and now have 5 more pullets (currently separated) that we will integrate the end of next month when they are 5 months old.

Your flock sounds very nice, and if you want to keep 2 roosters, that is what I would do.

SammyLee said:

Is it not possible to keep more than one? I have two cockerels that I wish to keep for breeding purposes and one is submissive to the other. I've not had any cock fights as of yet with all six cockerels kept together with the pullets, and very soon it will become just two. If I must, I will make a choice, but I will do so with difficulty.

Click to expand...

Personally, I would only keep one roo in a flock of that size.

Poor girls.
Get the extra boys out of there pronto, I'da done it a month ago.
2 might be OK, but be ready for over-mating abuse....not sure why you need 2.

aart said:

Poor girls.
Get the extra boys out of there pronto, I'da done it a month ago.
2 might be OK, but be ready for over-mating abuse....not sure why you need 2.

Click to expand...

I couldn't remove the boys a month ago because I only had the one enclosure and they weren't ready for the table yet. I want the two because they each possess different qualities I want for breeding. If the two can't remain together, I now have a space for the second one elsewhere. I'm slaughtering the four unlucky boys tomorrow, and today I noticed Dipp was mingling with the flock today without incident.