Barred Rock running scared

So, this afternoon I went out to give the flock their afternoon meal and everyone came running as usual except for Bernice. Went and found her and set her down near the food on the ground and near the lowest hen in the pecking order.

She didn't even try to eat, she ran out with the rooster chasing her. He caught her and made an attempt to mate her, let her up and she ran again, chased and caught her again and this time it looked like he finished mating with her. But he stayed near her and she jumped up on to a bale of straw and then the handle of my rototiller to get out of reach of him.

I decided that enough was enough, I'm not losing another chicken because I ignored odd behavior so I picked her up and brought her inside, she's in a cage in my mudroom/chicken hospital. We'll see if she calms down, will try to reintroduce her to the flock after a little vacation.
 
So, this afternoon I went out to give the flock their afternoon meal and everyone came running as usual except for Bernice. Went and found her and set her down near the food on the ground and near the lowest hen in the pecking order.

She didn't even try to eat, she ran out with the rooster chasing her. He caught her and made an attempt to mate her, let her up and she ran again, chased and caught her again and this time it looked like he finished mating with her. But he stayed near her and she jumped up on to a bale of straw and then the handle of my rototiller to get out of reach of him.

I decided that enough was enough, I'm not losing another chicken because I ignored odd behavior so I picked her up and brought her inside, she's in a cage in my mudroom/chicken hospital. We'll see if she calms down, will try to reintroduce her to the flock after a little vacation.
The rooster is seeking her out, because she's fearful, & considers her vulnerable. Only way I have gotten Scaredy birds to toughen up, is by throwing treats into the run, making them have no choice to mingle, & get along.

I think her issue is that she's no longer in her normal Rank in the Pecking Order.
 
The rooster is seeking her out, because she's fearful, & considers her vulnerable. Only way I have gotten Scaredy birds to toughen up, is by throwing treats into the run, making them have no choice to mingle, & get along.

I think her issue is that she's no longer in her normal Rank in the Pecking Order.

That sounds reasonable, though she's never been a scaredy-chicken before, the barred rocks to a bird tend to be more aggressive than the others though the Wyandottes don't take any guff from them. The pecking order goes through the Wyandottes, then the Barred Rocks, then the 2 Australorps. Not sure where Maggie the jungle fowl sits, just not at the bottom, she's the smallest bird but she's tough.

Introducing a new rooster no doubt rearranged the pecking order and she's not adjusted well to his presence.

Well, she's caged away from them now, I think I'll give her a week or so to reset and then I'll put her in a cage in the coop for a while to reacclimate to the flock, hopefully she'll find her way back into the fold.
 
That sounds reasonable, though she's never been a scaredy-chicken before, the barred rocks to a bird tend to be more aggressive than the others though the Wyandottes don't take any guff from them. The pecking order goes through the Wyandottes, then the Barred Rocks, then the 2 Australorps. Not sure where Maggie the jungle fowl sits, just not at the bottom, she's the smallest bird but she's tough.

Introducing a new rooster no doubt rearranged the pecking order and she's not adjusted well to his presence.

Well, she's caged away from them now, I think I'll give her a week or so to reset and then I'll put her in a cage in the coop for a while to reacclimate to the flock, hopefully she'll find her way back into the fold.
Everything goes through changes. I have a Scaredy hen, whom I'm working with currently. Her feathers are horrible since a few certain boys won't leave her alone. We're slowly making some progress though. She's at the bottom of the pecking order.


You have a JungleFowl hen? Do you have pictures? (Sorry, alittle off topic)


Hopefully a week of separation doesn't make things worse for her.
 
Hopefully a week of separation doesn't make things worse for her.
I'm hoping that removing her for a while then returning her will prompt a reshuffling of the pecking order. She wasn't at the bottom, don't really think she is now, it's more like she's disassociated herself from the flock for some reason. Or just agitated for some reason I've not picked up on and her agitation has caused a reaction from the rooster and other hens.

We'll see what happens, I may end up creating a separate flock for the non-Wyandottes, it's just hard to do separate groups when they need to have adequate housing to pass the winter here in Wisconsin.

You have a JungleFowl hen? Do you have pictures? (Sorry, alittle off topic)

Yes I do, don't tell the other chickens but she's my favorite. And 4 jungle fowl roosters as well. Buying a straight run is a crapshoot sometimes, would have preferred 4 hens and 1 rooster.


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And the boys...

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I'm hoping that removing her for a while then returning her will prompt a reshuffling of the pecking order. She wasn't at the bottom, don't really think she is now, it's more like she's disassociated herself from the flock for some reason. Or just agitated for some reason I've not picked up on and her agitation has caused a reaction from the rooster and other hens.

We'll see what happens, I may end up creating a separate flock for the non-Wyandottes, it's just hard to do separate groups when they need to have adequate housing to pass the winter here in Wisconsin.



Yes I do, don't tell the other chickens but she's my favorite. And 4 jungle fowl roosters as well. Buying a straight run is a crapshoot sometimes, would have preferred 4 hens and 1 rooster.


View attachment 2822592

View attachment 2822593
View attachment 2822594


And the boys...

View attachment 2822597
Update on what happens, with the reintroduction?

Definitely not purebred JungleFowl, they look similar to my Cracker hens.
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Your rooster at the front looks nice.
 
Update on what happens, with the reintroduction?
I'll try to remember.

Definitely not purebred JungleFowl, they look similar to my Cracker hens.

I don't know, they're from Cackle Hatchery so whatever genetics they breed and sell as jungle fowl. From their website "Cackle Hatchery® ’s bloodline/strain was acquired from some descendants of Red Jungle in the San Diego Zoo in California. "

Maggies coloration looks a bit different from yours, more of a paler tan and she's a bit thinner than yours look in that picture.

Your rooster at the front looks nice.

That's Shorty, he's got the most pronounced white earlobes. They're really pretty when they don't get their feathers all raggedy from tussling with each other.
 
I'll try to remember.



I don't know, they're from Cackle Hatchery so whatever genetics they breed and sell as jungle fowl. From their website "Cackle Hatchery® ’s bloodline/strain was acquired from some descendants of Red Jungle in the San Diego Zoo in California. "

Maggies coloration looks a bit different from yours, more of a paler tan and she's a bit thinner than yours look in that picture.



That's Shorty, he's got the most pronounced white earlobes. They're really pretty when they don't get their feathers all raggedy from tussling with each other.
Okay.

Most likely some other JungleFowl hybrids then. Mine are Red JungleFowl/American Game crosses, also known as Cracker fowl.
 
Well, I kept her out for a couple days then I put her outside in a fenced in area separate from the others. She flew out and promptly was chased and caught by the rooster. Tried to separate her again and she escaped again so I've just let her go back to them since it was a loosing battle.

In the morning she stays on the roost until I come into the coop then I put her over the fence and give her a head start before I open the gate and let the others out. If I don't do that she'll wait until I open the gate and will make a run for it on her own.

In the evening she waits until the last second to come back then runs like a bat out of hell to get into the coop and up on the roost before the rooster gets her. Locked her out the other night and realized it when I did my nightly roll call/count. Went to look for her and came running back from wherever she was and I had to open the door back up for her.

During the day she avoids the rooster as best she can, going up into a tree when he gets near where she's at. When she knows she can't get away from him she stops running, squats down and waits for him to do his thing. He's not hurt her other than a few gratuitous pecks to the back of the head when he's done with her. If she runs when he's finished he'll chase her and do it again unless she's able to get under something or up on something.

She has no issues with the other hens, other than the normal pecking order stuff, it's just the rooster.

She clucks all the time, makes it easy to find her, she sounds like my broody hens did when they came out for food/water. She doesn't act broody though, just clucks the same way.

Hoping in time it'll self correct, otherwise I may have to remove the rooster and send him back to the bachelor coop since I don't have the facilities to separate her to her own area with winter coming.
 

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