10 Hens against 1 Bantam Rooster

[Mogli]

i bought my 1st Bantam Rooster a few weeks aago ive had him for probly a Month or close to a Month now. but i put a plastic divider Fence up in the middle of my Run my 10 Hens on 1 side & my New little Bantam Rooster on the other, ive tryd to put 1 of my nice Docile Hens in with him on his side of the Fence, he gets kinda nervous & skidish when she gets close to him then eventully she gets moody & mean pecks at him a chases him alittle, my 10 Hens kn ow they are Biger then Him & there not afraid of him they know theres 10 Hens against 1 little Bantam Rooster, & he wont stand up for himself he wont fight back at the Hens cuz he knows hes little compared to them, is there any ideas or tips or tricks to were all 11 could get along?

 

[chooks4life]

i bought my 1st Bantam Rooster a few weeks aago ive had him for probly a Month or close to a Month now. but i put a plastic divider Fence up in the middle of my Run my 10 Hens on 1 side & my New little Bantam Rooster on the other, ive tryd to put 1 of my nice Docile Hens in with him on his side of the Fence, he gets kinda nervous & skidish when she gets close to him then eventully she gets moody & mean pecks at him a chases him alittle, my 10 Hens kn ow they are Biger then Him & there not afraid of him they know theres 10 Hens against 1 little Bantam Rooster, & he wont stand up for himself he wont fight back at the Hens cuz he knows hes little compared to them, is there any ideas or tips or tricks to were all 11 could get along?

I don't think your hens are thinking about functioning as a gang or the fact that they're bigger than him. Chances are, if they've never seen a rooster before, they're just thinking he's a juvenile who acts strange. Hens who have never seen roosters before can have no understanding of how to deal with them; they often mistake them for other hens, hence the conflict.

Sounds to me like he's a juvenile, if he's afraid of the hens; or perhaps he has never seen their type before?

Large breeds of hens, particularly layer types, can look like males to other breeds due to their large combs and wattles and often more confrontational behavior.

My smallest hens and roosters have always been dominant over the bigger ones, and neither of them relied on a gang to take alpha status, and neither of them were afraid to take on much larger birds solo. Instinct, health and intelligence levels determine alpha status more than size or strength ever do. You get a few types of alphas... Those who are dominant because they're the equivalent of psychopaths, so mentally normal chooks don't want to risk their lives to depose the dictators, and those who are dominant because they are simply best for the role and the other chickens naturally want to follow and obey them.

You naturally get an alpha hen and an alpha rooster. You don't naturally have conflict between males and females over alpha spot because their roles are complimentary. They compete with their own gender for alpha status, not the other gender. No hen in her right mind is going to try to be alpha rooster and no rooster in his right mind is going to try to be alpha hen. But, many domestics lack instinct, and you do get inter-gender conflicts. Doesn't mean it's healthy nor ideal nor even normal.

Chances are very strong that your hens lack instinct, especially if they're hatchery-bred layer types; sometimes they will experience return of instincts with long term exposure to the right stimuli (i.e. presence of a rooster, ability to freerange or brood, depends what type of lost instincts we're talking about)... But some will never accept a rooster. There's a chance some of your hens won't ever accept him.

Chances are he's not fighting back not because he knows he's little, but because he knows he's not supposed to stand up to adult hens, if he's a juvenile; chickens rarely seem to understand their size, much like dogs, tiny breeds tend to act like they're full sized. Juveniles of both genders are automatically subordinate to adults of either gender.

If he's an adult and he's running from them, chances are it's because he's not used to their breed and possibly thinks they're roosters. I have some questions:

How old is he?

How old are they?

What sort of hens are they?

Best wishes.

 

[Mogli]

idk how old he is, my Hens are a 1 1/2 years old i think they will eventually be 2 years old in Aprial 2015 i think. my Hens are Golden Comets there a hybrid breed there part White leghorn & part Rhod island Red. FYI this Breed is the Best breed if you love & want lots of Brown eggs. im thinkn im probly gonna have to build aittle Coop / kinda box for him to live in since i doubt my Hens will get along & be nice to him

 

[chooks4life]

Yeah, they're generally not the sort of hens who get along with roosters too well to begin with, but, they're approaching the end of their most productive period, some may well stop laying and go into premature 'henopause' lol. There's a chance they'll become more docile and cut him some slack when not being overburdened by the overproduction demands of laying so prolifically.

If you post a pic I can give you an age estimate on the male.

Personally, I wouldn't keep him separate permanently, if he can't get along with your hens he should ideally have a little banty hen bought for him, or a few; it's stressful for them to live alone even if they can see others. Not much of a life at all. They can and do become depressed, and then their immune system suffers, and down they go with pathogen or parasite burdens that otherwise wouldn't have touched them. They're not designed to cope with solo lives.

One side effect of having rooster-friendly hens in with your rooster is that chickens are smart enough to learn from watching and can learn more about a rooster from watching in a more peaceful manner than often occurs when a male is introduced to their flock with no precedent. If they get set into a pattern of attacking they can remain that way, but getting to watch him interact with hens who like roosters can educate the less rooster-friendly hens and make integration more peaceful. All isn't lost yet.

Not a fan of the breed you mention, Comets, or any commercial layers. Too many faults. I prefer mongrels. Each to their own, aye?

Best wishes.