Aggressive roo and hiding hens--BYC wisdom urgently needed!

[luv2greys]

I am new to chickens this year, and have 25 pullets and 2 roos that were all hatched on or about April 5. Most were purchased from McMurray hatchery, with my 2 EE pullets and 2 RIR pullets from the local feed stores. I deliberately ordered a male Araucana for the girls, and my free exotic chick turned out to be a Golden Laced Wyandotte roo (suspected all along his sex but just now started crowing!)

Anyway the Araucana gets along great with most of the hens but he bullies about 6 of the pullets, and they run from him and hide in the corner of the coop behind their pool filled with sand. Most of them wont go outside when I open the door and though they eat and drink they spend most of their time in the corner. The GLW seems much more benevolent to the girls and they aren't scared of him.

Any suggestions? Do you think hen saddles on the affected girls would help? I am afraid it may come down to trying to rehome him as my whole forray into chickens was to give them a good life being treated well.

Any advice greatly appreciated!

 

[scratch'n'peck]

I don't know if the chicken saddle would make much of a difference. It doesn't sound like the six pullets are afraid of him because of over mating. Are the six laying yet? I wonder if his attitude toward them will change as they mature. The only other alternative that comes to mind is setting up a run area for the six with food and water where they wouldn't worry about the bully rooster.

BTW, I like the grey hound pic in your avatar. I really like grey hounds do they do well around chickens?

 

[luv2greys]

Thanks for the input! I think they are just afraid of him in general as he will follow them into the corner and bully them. None of them are laying yet, so I don't want to do anything drastic until I see how it all plays out. Most of the hens tolerate his presence quite well. I do hear squawking when he grabs them by the neck in his mating attempts. The only damage I have seen is on my buff turken's neck. She has a small wound that looks like a peck mark that I am assuming was done by him. I am monitoring the situation closely.

Thank you for the compliments on my Rugger's picture. I lost him last fall to a tumor on his spleen and this is one of the last pictures I have of him. We had lost our female greyhound a month previous to bone cancer. What a horrible time for us. We have 2 new greyhounds we have adopted since then as we adore the breed. They haven't really seen the chickens yet as they are always in their coop or their run out. They would probably love to "play" with them!

 

[scratch'n'peck]

It's so very difficult to lose pets, especially two dear dogs in such a short time. I really like the temperament of the greyhounds I have met, maybe I will adopt one someday. I don't know if chickens would really move fast enough to trigger their chasing instinct. My flock is in their large run most of the time, so it wouldn't be much of an issue is we got a greyhound anyway.

 

[Den in Penn]

About your aggressive cockerel. My take is that he may have two problems. One is he is young, the other is that he is the second in line. Being both of those he is trying to make those pullets his even though they aren't ready yet. The ones he is going after may just be the most mature of the flock. It will work itself out with time. If you really need to separate. Since they are all the same age separating the cockerels for a few weeks might be in order till the pullets mature.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I would give him time.

Young cockerels do that from my experience. Some breeders separate adolescents until they learn their manners.

As for me, I just let my pullets be chased. They fly up onto high spots in the run if needed. Things work out. I do not tolerate serial matings by several cockerels over one hen, though (gang rape). That is when I get rid of some of them.

 

[five is my dog]

he probably won't like this but separate him from the hens all of them. Until the Hens mature and lay eggs. If he is still mean to them it's time to rehome.

two roos don't go good together

 

[luv2greys]

I really appreciate all the advice--thank you! I know that they need time to mature; all of them. I guess I just worry as instead of roosting these pullets clump up in the corner. This is the behavior they have taken on since he has started his studly advances. I will try and just relax and let them figure it out