Friendly Rooster has begun attacking just ONE hen--help

[kpenn26]

I have 9 laying hens and one Barred Rock Rooster. He was raised in our flock by a broody hen with 3 other baby barred rock hens. He is now about 5 months old and within the last two months has been mounting the girls but not being overly aggressive. He calls them to treats and is aware of predators. He allows me to handle him and pick him up and shows no aggression towards our children or our other pets. He is our first rooster and so far he's been doing all the right things.

I have two Buff Brahmas who are BIG and have been the leaders of our flock from the beginning (3 years ago). I have yet to see Rooster mount either of them. The leader Brahma is a gentle but firm leader and she and the rooster seem to get along. The second Brahma who has always been second in the pecking order seems to have no trouble with the rooster.
Yesterday I witnessed the Rooster go after the second-in-command Brahma and brutally attack her. He did not try to mate with her, but pecked her to the ground and she was pressed up against the wall with her head under her wings. She had been foraging and minding her own business. She stayed in that position on the ground until I shoved Rooster away and picked her up. Rooster had a mouth full of feathers but did not draw blood.

Later in the day, I heard a big ruckus outside and ran to see what was happening. My entire flock came to me as they always do, except the Brahma who had been attacked earlier in the day. I found her in our back run, alone, and she appeared dead. Her neck was stretched out, her body limp and splayed on the ground, pressed up against the fence. I called her name and she did not move. I picked her up and she still did not move. After 30 second or so of me holding her she lifted her head and made a noise--up to that point I thought she was dead. I kept her separate for the rest of the day and she hid in the bushes. She had no visible injuries but was clearly terrified. She would still eat out of my hand and forage a bit, but would not go near the flock.

I put her back with everyone at the end of they day, and Rooster made an aggressive move towards her again that I stopped. I put him in "jail" for the night so she could rejoin her flock. I am keeping him separate today. The rest of the flock is treating the Brahma normally. Her comb is bright, she is active and eating. She is beginning to molt, which she does every year at this time. She is clearly still terrified of Rooster today, even though he cannot get to her.

Why is Rooster singling her out? While she is high in the pecking order, she is not aggressive or bossy. I will not rehome her--she has been with us from the beginning and is a great layer and a valuable addition to the flock. I also do not want to lose Rooster, as he has been great up until now. I will rehome him if this does not stop.

Any advice?

 

[Ridgerunner]

You do not have a mature rooster. You have a cockerel that is going through puberty. His hormones are telling him to step up and become flock master but he's not quite ready for that. He still has some maturing to do.

I'm not sure why he is going after the second-in-command. Usually when I see this it happens with the dominant hen. Why isn't the dominant hen trying to break up that fighting? But you do not get guarantees with chickens and their behaviors. Just because it is normally the dominant hen does not mean it always has to be.

When a cockerel matures into a rooster they are often able to take over the flock by force of personality. Their magnificence and self-confidence wows the girls. That happens in my flock on a regular basis and it is usually pretty peaceful. Usually my cockerels are 7 months old when they take over but I have had one manage that peacefully at 5 months.

I've also had one that waited until he was 11 months to try and that was pretty vicious, somewhat like yours. I let mine go but I monitored. No one got injured, just whenever the hen came close to the flock he ran her away. After two days of this she accepted his dominance and the fighting was over.

From what you described your hen is in danger of being killed. I would not let it go. If you want to keep both of them I'd suggest you house him separately from the flock but where he can see them. Wait another two months and let him go. See how it goes. He may have matured enough to take over by personality with little physical force. If it is still too vicious for you, try locking him up another month and try again. At some point it either works or you decide you are done with him and get rid of him.

Usually this works out. But sometimes you have a boy whose personality is so weak he has to rely on physical force instead of wowing them. Sometimes you have a hen that just will not accept a rooster over her. It can be an unpleasant part of chicken keeping.

Good luck!

 

[kpenn26]

You do not have a mature rooster. You have a cockerel that is going through puberty. His hormones are telling him to step up and become flock master but he's not quite ready for that. He still has some maturing to do.

I'm not sure why he is going after the second-in-command. Usually when I see this it happens with the dominant hen. Why isn't the dominant hen trying to break up that fighting? But you do not get guarantees with chickens and their behaviors. Just because it is normally the dominant hen does not mean it always has to be.

When a cockerel matures into a rooster they are often able to take over the flock by force of personality. Their magnificence and self-confidence wows the girls. That happens in my flock on a regular basis and it is usually pretty peaceful. Usually my cockerels are 7 months old when they take over but I have had one manage that peacefully at 5 months.

I've also had one that waited until he was 11 months to try and that was pretty vicious, somewhat like yours. I let mine go but I monitored. No one got injured, just whenever the hen came close to the flock he ran her away. After two days of this she accepted his dominance and the fighting was over.

From what you described your hen is in danger of being killed. I would not let it go. If you want to keep both of them I'd suggest you house him separately from the flock but where he can see them. Wait another two months and let him go. See how it goes. He may have matured enough to take over by personality with little physical force. If it is still too vicious for you, try locking him up another month and try again. At some point it either works or you decide you are done with him and get rid of him.

Usually this works out. But sometimes you have a boy whose personality is so weak he has to rely on physical force instead of wowing them. Sometimes you have a hen that just will not accept a rooster over her. It can be an unpleasant part of chicken keeping.

Good luck!

Thank you very much for your response! And to answer one question--the dominant Brahma is molting HARD and is very tired and withdrawn for the time being, which explains why she is not intervening.
I will do what you suggested and keep him separate for a couple of months. "Separate" for our setup means he gets access to our entire backyard and garden and won't be kept in a pen. Hopefully those hormones will calm down during that time.