What is goign on and what should i do about it??????????????????

Ok, I have a hen that's 2 - 21/2 years old. she has always been the dominant hen. I added to my flock 2 hens and a rooster but I added them when they were days old. Now the hens and the roosetr are maybe 1 yr old. He is a fabulous rooster I love him and I love them all. I only have 5 but we have babies 5 of them with a hen. my problem is that Rosey and Mr. Jack have never gotten along and I am pretty sure its because Rosey was the head honcho but we all know the rooster is supposed to be. he and her would fight until he got the bluff on her one day so now she is afraid of him. she would be around him and he would do his man thing and all. now recently a few months ago she is terrified of him now. she stays by herself most of the time because she cant be with the other hens because she is so afraid of him. what happens is when he comes around she either runs a away or drops to the ground to let him whatever. only thing is that he doesn't do whatever with her she stays on the ground and he starts pecking her head. he really hurt her a couple weeks ago left her comb all bloody. I was so upset to see her in that shape and no she isn't fighting him I have witnessed this happening with my own eyes. she will drop to the ground and he goes to pecking her head she has a bald spot from it. I help her when I can cause I feel sorry for her. they free range usually unless we are not home then they are in the pen. that's when he really got a hold of her. so after he pecks and rips out feathers she runs away screaming of course because he usually brings blood. now, Rosey just a few minutes ago was walking up to the mama and her babies started acting like a rooster with the side feather thing then they jumped in the air like they were going to fight. has mr. jack made rosey mean? she hangs out like I said by herself now she is wanting to stay on the poarch most of the time now. I really am in a pickle and I don't know what to do. can anyone give me some advice please? thanks

i really don't know. you could try separating him from the flock for a couple weeks. that would put him back down on the pecking order and maybe they could build a new relationship. the chances aren't great, but it's worth a shot. other than that...freezer camp

I think I would pull her out, and see if the flock settles down. If you get good flock dynamic I would keep it that way, if the roo picks a new victim, then he would go.

Mrs K

I don't know if he is wanting her to get up or what his deal is because he doesn't do his man thing he just pecks her. oh no, no freezer camp he is a very good rooster other than this problem. he is very gentle you can even pick him up. I would give him to a friend before I would kill him. I understand some people use that as a choice tho just not me . I have thought about keeping him in the run for a couple hours a day and letting everybody else run loose.

I just read in another thread about putting Vick's Vaporub on the feathers of the hen that is getting picked on. I'm going to give it a try on my poor picked on hen and see if it works. It has something to do with changing the smell of the animal and then the others don't want to pick on her anymore. Maybe that will work for you? Good luck!

Some individuals just take a dislike to another. It could be the case with yours. You may have to re home one, if MrsK's advise doesn't work.

Actually, pecking order and mating dynamics are sometimes hard to watch because it gets a bit rough. I think your rooster is just very young and immature, and he hasn't got his moves down just yet. It sounds like he may make a good one, so i wouldn't get rid of him just yet. The one that gets pecked is just the lowest in the pecking order, and if you get rid of her, there will be another one just like her. Your rooster may benefit from having a bachelor pen now and then to give Rosey a break. Most roosters mellow a bit after they are a little older, and aren't so rough.

Would love to know how you go with the Vicks!

I will def. try the vicks. Rosey is TOP hen with the hens as far as pecking order goes and they know it to. she is def. not low on the pecking order. its just with Mr. Jack. that's what I cant get that it might not be pecking order. it is driving me crazy because we built this huge coop and pen I LOVE it so much. we built it so everybody would have a lot of room. so this is really getting on my nerves. I hate to have to divide my pen. even when they free range she wants to stay on the porch. they are all pets so getting rid of someone is pretty much out of the question. Rosey is my sweetheart and I love mr. jack to. I will try the vicks and post how it goes.

So how did it go?