Angry with my rooster!!! Why is he chasing off his hen?

[IndigoJaguar]

Ok, so all of the sudden my rooster has started chasing off one of my hens. They are about a year old and have grown up together along with my six other chickens, but she is the only one he suddenly won't let near the flock. What is up with that? What would make a rooster suddenly turn on one of his hens? It reminds me of the behavior between my two roos; I eventually butchered one of them but the one wouldn't let the other near.

 

[Pinky]

Maybe he feels he's not getting enough food.

 

[gritsar]

A couple of questions. Is she perhaps sick (& therefore a liability to the flock)?

Second one and I'm sorry if it sounds condescending, are you sure she's a hen?

ETA: The reason for the 2nd ? - In the presence of a strong alpha roo, a subordinate roo can be pretty sneaky about hiding his gender. I've seen it in my own flocks.

 

[IndigoJaguar]

Hmmm....the food could be an issue, but I always make sure they have plenty, and even give them treats. I don't know how I would deal with that if that was the issue. Any suggestions?
She doesn't act sick. She's running around being her usual loud mouthed self.

Unless she has something I can't see?
I'm pretty positive she's a hen. She's been laying eggs since September. LOL She is the same kind and from the same batch of eggs as my rooster, so I'm pretty sure I would know by now if she was a roo. Also I only have seven hens and I have gotten seven eggs many times. Would it even be possible to have a year old roo that had never crowed or gotten roo feathers? I'm mean I have never actually watched her lay an egg, just seen her in the nest box.
I don't know what to do if this keeps up. Kill one of them?

 

[teach1rusl]

How do the other hens treat her??? Is it possible that she's not submitting to your rooster's advances, and he's trying to show her who's boss?? Are you sure he's chasing her off, rather than going after her to mate, and she's running away??? Just trying to help figure this out...

 

[Pinky]

Sometimes my RIR rooster gets grumpy when the hens crowd him when he's eating. He likes to have some space while he eats. I have two places where I feed my chickens and that usually fixes the overcrowding at the feeders.

 

[Ridgerunner]

A rooster has two basic instincts. Make sure all eggs are fertile and protect his flocks. There are subsets of this, like him finding then treats is his way to seduce them and make sure all eggs are fertile. Not all of them have good instincts, roosters or hens.

The only thing I can think of remotely related to the first is she is running fromm him when he is trying to mate with her and it looks like he is running her off. I don't mean to insult you, just can't think if anything else related to sex since you are sure he is not a rooster.

The only thing that makes any sense to me is that some light bulb went off in his bird brain and somehow he suddenly considers her a threat to the flock. I don't know if she has been attacking another hen and he is breaking up the fight or if something about her just caused something to suddenly snap. I suspect what he is doing is more instinctive than rational, but I have never seen anything like that.

Not much help, I know, but I have no experience with this.

 

[IndigoJaguar]

Good thoughts, all.
I have seen him mate her before.....he could be running after her for that; however I don't know what would suddenly cause her to run from him in a freaked out frenzy. I haven't watched her with other the other hens so I don't know if she is mean to them. I'm puzzled about this sudden shift in behavior. Why now after one year of all living together as a flock? It is a probability that he is just trying to mate her, but she acts scared to death anywhere around him. I haven't even seen her with the flock today. I have no idea where she is. She is also now sleeping in the nest boxes because he apparently won't let her on the roost to sleep with the rest. Grrr. Why can't they all just get along?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Maybe it is the hen that has freaked out, not the rooster?

A quick thought, wild as it is. Is she going broody? A broody hen does not want to mate with a rooster and would sleep in the nest box.

 

[Badbaby05]

Broody...that's a good one Ridgerunner

Good thought! I would see if she's hanging out in the nest box in the day for sure.