Brooding Barred Rock hen attacking rooster. Why?

[Chickycammy]

I have my first ever brooding hen in my flock, she's a 2-year-old Barred Rock and she has 7 healthy and alive 12-day old eggs. She's had no problem with me taking the eggs out to candle them (though, I've only done this twice so not to upset her much) and she's still doing well eating and drinking since I moved it closer to her. She allows the other hens into the coop and doesn't seem bothered by them laying.

Yet, whenever the rooster goes into the coop she freaks on him. She kicks, pecks and makes all kinds of sounds at him. He doesn't seem bothered by it enough to attack her back but he has gotten a few cuts on him from her.

Why is she attacking him? It's been super rainy here so he's been spending more time in the coop and not the run lately but it seems odd to me. He's their protector and I'd think she'd want him close. He's done a great job killing 2 snakes already that tried to get into their coop.

Another worry is; am I going to have to move him when the eggs hatch? I don't know how roosters are with their chicks and she seems so she doesn't want him near them and they haven't even hatched yet.

 

[aart]

That is odd.
Is he the same age?
Does she get off the nest to go after him?

she's still doing well eating and drinking since I moved it closer to her.

Does she need to get off nest to eat and drink? She should get up every day or two to eat drink poop.
How big is your coop, pics would help.

 

[Chickycammy]

That is odd.
Is he the same age?
Does she get off the nest to go after him?

Does she need to get off nest to eat and drink? She should get up every day or two to eat drink poop.
How big is your coop, pics would help.

They're the same age, from the same hatching but not related.
She'll get off the nest and run him out of the coop and then goes right back to the nest.

She wasn't getting off but once a day to eat or drink so I thought it'd be less stressful for her to just move some of the feeders closer to her.
Coop is 8 by 10 and the run is much bigger. It's night here so I won't be able to get any pics atm.
Does coop size matter for her being grumpy? Do I need to move her to a bigger one?

 

[50-45-1]

I am a big advocate of separating broodies and there eggs to a separate place for this very reason. With her being disturbed constantly, she may be give up on the whole idea, which would be a shame if they were close to hatching. Also are the other hens laying fresh eggs in with her batch? This also leads to loss as after the first couple days with chicks under her she will get them out for food and water, which she must do, and leave the remaining partially hatched ones behind. Good luck! Please keep us updated

 

[aart]

They're the same age, from the same hatching but not related.
She'll get off the nest and run him out of the coop and then goes right back to the nest.

She wasn't getting off but once a day to eat or drink so I thought it'd be less stressful for her to just move some of the feeders closer to her.
Coop is 8 by 10 and the run is much bigger. It's night here so I won't be able to get any pics atm.
Does coop size matter for her being grumpy? Do I need to move her to a bigger one?

Once a day is fine, she should get off the nest to eat, drink, and especially poop.

That's odd that she's opposed only to him, don't think I've ever heard of that before.
Did she get along with him prior to setting?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

When chickens do unexpected things, it is anybody's guess what they are thinking.
As for the rooster after hatching, I doubt he will hurt the chicks. A broody hen is a formidable foe and will protect against all comers. A few months ago I netted a 2 month old pullet because I had to change a legband and though the hen no longer mothered the brood, she flew at my face to attack me and rescue the pullet.

 

[1cock2hens]

For some reason your hen sees the rooster as a threat to her clutch, he just needs to learn to avoid her lol Roosters usually do really well with chicks honestly so there isnt much to worry about there.

 

[Chickycammy]

I am a big advocate of separating broodies and there eggs to a separate place for this very reason. With her being disturbed constantly, she may be give up on the whole idea, which would be a shame if they were close to hatching. Also are the other hens laying fresh eggs in with her batch? This also leads to loss as after the first couple days with chicks under her she will get them out for food and water, which she must do, and leave the remaining partially hatched ones behind. Good luck! Please keep us updated

The other hens seem to give her space. I have a lot of nesting boxes and there have not been any new eggs since I first saw her brooding on them. Always 7 eggs. The other hens are laying as I've gotten eggs out of the other boxes.

Once a day is fine, she should get off the nest to eat, drink, and especially poop.

That's odd that she's opposed only to him, don't think I've ever heard of that before.
Did she get along with him prior to setting?

That's why I posted. She's always seemed to be his favorite if they have those and was always by his side until she went brooding.

When chickens do unexpected things, it is anybody's guess what they are thinking.
As for the rooster after hatching, I doubt he will hurt the chicks. A broody hen is a formidable foe and will protect against all comers. A few months ago I netted a 2 month old pullet because I had to change a legband and though the hen no longer mothered the brood, she flew at my face to attack me and rescue the pullet.

Oh, my! I've had my butt kicked before by one of my oldest hens when getting eggs but she's never gone broody. I'd hate if she did, she'd beat everyone's butt!
As for the Rooster, if everyone feels the chicks would be fine then I'll leave him with them. I hated the idea of moving him because he's done such a good job protecting them so far.

For some reason your hen sees the rooster as a threat to her clutch, he just needs to learn to avoid her lol Roosters usually do really well with chicks honestly so there isnt much to worry about there.

Thank you. Since these will be my first hatch from a brooding hen I was worried about him hurting them and her reactions where just making that fear stronger.

 

[aart]

Since these will be my first hatch from a brooding hen I was worried about him hurting them and her reactions where just making that fear stronger.

I can understand that, an interesting situation for sure.
Are you around most the day to keep an eye out?
Might be good to have a place ready to confine him if necessary,
and if you can't be around might be good to confine him on hatch day.

 

[Chickycammy]

Update:

Her eggs have hatched. We have 5 health chicks out of 7 eggs. Sadly 1 never hatched, the other did hatch but died shortly after due to a "twin" that was attached to its thigh (I think I'm scarred for life after seeing that).

I did end up moving him into another coop with some older hens who I have that no longer lay. They've had no problem accepting him and he seems okay with the move.

After the hatch, she was just so upset freaking out at any sight of him but now that he's no longer in the coop she's walking around and has the chicks with her. The other hen's don't seem bothered by them and same with her when the other hens walk close to her.

I don't have many pics because when I got close to them she hid them under her. I was able to get a cute pic with one sticking out though. I'm sorry if it looks bad, we've had so much rain here that it looks muddy but it's not bad in the run, just dark dirt.

Also, this is my first time having a hen with chicks. Can I touch them or will she reject them? Like if I can get close enough, I'd like to try and wing sex them while they're young.