Help!! Australorp rooster may have hurt one of my hens!

[cochfam6]

So I have 22 week old barred rocks and RIR. The black australorp is also 22 weeks old. We are new chicken farmers and have come across an issue with our rooster who appears to being mean at times. I have recently had a RIR who was juat sitting in the corner and jot getting up. My husband thought maybe she was laying but no after several days of being in the same spot she appeared hurt. I googled different reasons of what could be wrong with her and some results showed maybe egg bound so I brought her in and soaked her ent in warm water and for her a new home in an old dog cage to rest and concentrate in passing this egg. She was weak and closing her eyes a lot. She Laura with her bottom up in the air and her tail feathers are tucked under. We went ahead and placed her out in the coop after she appeared to be getting stronger. We put her up in the nesting box with some food and water and came out the next day and she acted like she wanted out but couldn't. My husband put her down and she walked over to the food pan and the rooster attacked her and she just lasted her down and whimpered.

so he put her back up and we gave her some treats and thought maybe he had hurt her cause she is eating and drinking but still sits with her butt in the air and seems unsteady when she begins walking. What should we do?? Noticed today also that the rooster chased off one of the barred rocks and had her up against the fence until she submitted to him but then he was pecking around outside with her minutes later. Should we rid of him or is this normal behavior for a rooster?
Thanks ahead

 

[sourland]

If he were mine, I would separate him from the pullets until they mature. If upon reintroduction he continued to be over aggressive towards them - chicken soup he would become.

 

[2chick]

 

[cochfam6]

2chick- I bought all the hens and rooster from the same person. They were all living in the same quarters. They are all the same age also. I will just keep an eye on them. Thank u
both. Soup he may be! Things do seem a little calmer. He isn't attacking her in the nesting box. He isn't paying her any attention at all but she won't come out either.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I suggest you read my post #4 in this thread. It might help explain some of what you are seeing.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/799298/how-can-i-stop-lavender-cockrel-from-attacking-my-hens

I don’t know what is going on in your flock. It’s possible that rooster is just a brute and is worthy of nothing better than soup. He may be acting totally normal. I can’t tell from here. Maybe my post in that other thread will help you with that.

No often but occasionally a chicken will just attack and try to kill another chicken or run it out of the flock. It may be a rooster, a dominant hen, or maybe the entire flock doing the attacking. It’s as if they recognize that chicken is sick, injured, or just weak and a danger to the flock. You may not see anything wrong with the one they are attacking. But they can be brutal unmerciful bullies when this happens.

It may be that the pullet injured herself, flying down from the roost and banging into something, trying to get away from an amorous rooster, or maybe injured in a pecking order fight with another pullet. It’s possible she may be sick. 22 weeks is a little old for Marek’s but anything is possible.

Instead of isolating the rooster I think I’d isolate her if the rooster or any others are bothering her. Give her food and water and a chance to recover.


My husband put her down and she walked over to the food pan and the rooster attacked her and she just lasted her down and whimpered

About this. It’s pretty normal when a rooster has been away from his flock for a while, even just a few minutes, he immediately mates with a hen to show he is still the boss. Or if a hen has been separated a bit, he welcomes her back by mating with her to show the same thing. That’s disgusting to watch when she is injured but it’s just natural. His birdbrain works more on instinct than reason.