What to do...Rooster beats up smaller hens

[ging3rhoffman]

I added new hens in with my older hens and there was some hen pecking but all is well now. They were very close to the same size before i put them together..and i sat out in the run and watched them for a couple of hours. The problem is that the rooster runs off the 9 new girls and tries to keep the other 13 older girls to himself. He is pretty nasty to the new girls. I put him in a pen by himself and let them out together each night and he still wont accept the new girls. The new girls are just starting to lay...do you think he will accept them once they start laying? I need to get him out of the pen he is in and in the run and coop so he can have a warm and wonderful winter with all of the girls. Will he stop being mean to the newer girls. This has been going on for 2 months now.

 

[Freebie]

I am not sure, but you may have to get another roo for your 9 new girls. 22 hens is alot for 1 roo. He probably feels like he is constantly babysitting. I think my roo feels that way right now. I have 9 new ones also, but at least 2 of them are cockerals. There were 16 before I got the 9 chicks back in Aug. Now they are all together and I think he has picked out about 10-12 hens that are his and the others he does not hurt just chases them away from his girls and their food. I am hopeing he will be relieved when there is another roo to tend to the others. I had another roo with him once but that roo was very mean to me. So, he is gone now.

 

[Freebie]

Having any luck yet?