Attack Hen

[torrelee]

I have a small flock of 5 australorps in my backyard coop. I have had them for about 4 months now and got them just before they started laying. They have all gotten along pretty well, until about a week and a half ago. They free range during the day, and I started noticing that one of my hens was hiding under their house when I would let them out. Another has all of the feathers picked off the top of her head, and scabs on her comb. I have one hen, who we call Rooster, who seems to be the dominant. She has grown long tail feathers, crows, and in general acts more like a rooster than the rest of them. I have been watching them closely since I noticed the changes in the others behavior and found that she is running off the one, and constantly mounting the other and ripping her feathers out while she is at it. I understand that one of the hens will become dominant if their isn't a rooster present, but is there something that I can do to prevent the dissention in the ranks and damage to my other hens?

 

[ScotianChick]

Um.. are you sure it isn't a rooster. That sounds exactly like one. I have a dominant hen and she lays eggs, looks like a hen, and is submissive to me... but I see her jump on top of other hens attempting to mate them. That's a far cry from my hidden rooster who eventually got bumps for spurs, long tail feathers, etc.

 

[ScotianChick]

Oh, and I'd get them chicken saddles for their backs. There are several awesome people on here that make them.

 

[torrelee]

She could be a rooster, though I havn't noticed spurs yet. All of my hens came from a woman who works with my mom. She claimed that they were all hens... but I dont think that she was the most reputable breeder. Other than all being black only 2 of my five australorps look much alike! My crazy chicken is much taller with long tail, Jade is giant and blue green, the twins look like the pictures I have seen of australorps, and my little girl is about the size of a banty. They lay regularly, have put on quite a bit of weight,and are overall pretty good girls though, so I havn't told them they're not show quality!

 

[Mattemma]

I have all hens and I swear I heard my one RSL hen kinda crow one am. I had her and another in the garage due to their mean behavior. Unfortunately all my hens are pecking each other. Must be the boredom of being in the coop much of the day.

I have read that hens can act like roos

Try seperating the hen-roo to mellow it out and see if it lays an egg.

I just pulled one hen due to a bloody de-feathered head. These chickens can sure be brutal with each other!

 

[Want Less]

I'm guessing also that "Rooster" is actually a rooster

 

[Rennie]

can you not get a pic to show us this "rooster" .. sounds very much like one to me too

 

[Judy]

Yes, especially if it is a she. Hens get spurs sometimes, too, and you're right, one hen will sometimes act like a roo, mount the others, take the lead, grab the neck, even make a sort of crowing sound, though it's a poor imitation. Often a hen who does this does not lay.

Whatever he/she is, I would put it in chicken jail for a week, at least. If it's a hen, things should calm down considerably because she will have to come back at the bottom of the pecking order.

If these chickens have been laying for 3 or 4 months, and all are about the same age, a rooster should have been crowing for a long time now, probably since before the hens started laying.

 

[torrelee]

I'll see if I can get a good picture of her. I googled it, and she does look an awful lot like a rooster. I've been suspicious for a while but living in denial, lol. She has always been taller, less bulky, and flashier looking. Thats why her name was originally Tyra. She has been making a crowing noise for a quite a while. It started out as not a full cockadoodledooo, and is up to cockadoooooodle now. She also puffs up and flaps a lot, I'm thinking its a dominance thing?? I bought a book on chicken behavior, I just havn't had a chance to read it between work and school and the garden!

 

[torrelee]

I took a couple of pictures but dont see where I can post them. Do I need a certain number of postings before I can put up pics??