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

[gritsar]

Quote:
A good thought and a very likely cause.

 

[IndigoJaguar]

Brilliant!! That makes total sense. She was hanging out in the house all day and just acting generally weird. I went out just now and put a bucket on its side in the house with hay and a fake egg in it. She went right in and seemed to start making a nest! Yay! I will watch her for the next couple of days and see if she hangs out in there.
If she happens to be broody, I'd like to put other eggs under her. Any idea how many eggs she can sit on and how many chicks she will take care of?

 

[Ridgerunner]

As many eggs as she can comfortably cover. Chickens and eggs come in different sizes. Some bantams can only cover four regular sized eggs. Some large fowl can cover 18 eggs. I usually go with twelve. If she can cover the eggs, she can cover the chicks and keep them warm as long as she needs to. After a while they will be so big she cannot cover them all, but she will still manage to take care of them

Last summer one Black Australorp raised 15 chicks for me, hatched in an incubator. Before she weaned them, they were sleeping on top of one nest box, the hen and most of her chicks. This was at about 7 weeks old. The top of the nest box was so crowded, all the chicks did not fit. Some were sleeping beside the nest box. Before the hen weaned them at 9 weeks, some chicks started sleeping on the roosts with the other chickens while Mama was still on top of the nest box with most of the other chicks.

 

[NYREDS]

He doesn't find her attractive.

 

[axion_lotus]

 

[Nostalchic]

I had a couple of young Maran roosters (HAD!) that started brutalizing two of my favorite hens for no apparent reason. Which are our favorite hens?... well, the most docile, friendliest - and often also most submissive ones - right? These two hens were healthy and happy members of my flock until these roos started picking on them, bloodying their heads, chasing them whenever they saw them, until these girls were afraid to go into the coop and were pathetic and miserable. The more dominant rooster started it - so he went into the fridge first. Once he was gone, the 2nd rooster picked up where he'd left off. They weren't aggressive towards me - yet - but I think they were kind of testing their power and position in the flock, and started with the most submissive hens. Maybe they would have outgrown this (they were 6 months old) but I wasn't willing to wait for that. Neither hen was broody. Both hens are again happy and healthy members of my (now) peaceful and roosterless flock. I liked those roos - they were fertile eggs I'd gotten that one of my broodies hatched out for me, so I'd watched them grow up in my flock. They were gorgeous and I loved their crowing, but I couldn't handle the violence. So I'm just saying that the broody thing might be a red herring. My hens would HIDE from those roos in the nest boxes, but weren't broody - no other broody behaviors, but just afraid to come out...

 

[IndigoJaguar]

I guess that wasn't the issue....being broody. I watched her for a few days and she didn't seem to want to nest. Then today when I went out, he had ripped her head open and she was bleeding a lot. I think she will be ok, but I need to know how to doctor her. What is the best thing to put on to keep the other hens from pecking her? And what is the best natural healing stuff for a wound? I washed it with water and put calandula tincture on it....which is for wounds.
When the man gets home on Wednesday, the rooster dies. He also tried to attack me briefly today. I could probably deal with that, but he can't be hurting my hens. For now the rooster is penned under the chicken house.
I'm with you Nostalchic. I like roosters, but I just can't put up with senseless attacks. So I guess no more roos for me.

In our case, the hen he attacked is my most vocal outgoing hen. It is just interesting how chickens work. I am sad to kill my rooster....he is gorgeous....but I want a peaceful flock!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Sometimes roosters will chase hens off and not let them eat until THEY decide it's ok. It is for the hen to bow to the supreme authority of the rooster.

 

[IndigoJaguar]

Well....ripping her head open is not my idea of ok behavior for a rooster, so he is destined to become dead chicken. If he was just chasing her off, I would leave them be, but when it turns bloody, that's the end.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote:
Oh I didn't see post #17. One time I visited someone with chickens and they had their roo penned up separately (for I don't know how long) because he pecked one of his hens' eye out.

I have put down a bad roo before (DH did it). But I haven't given up on all roos. Silkie roos are very sweet usually. And they aren't big and scary.