Hen afraid of rooster

[fmorlando1]

I have a flock of 18 hens and 1 rooster. One of the hens, a 1 1/2 year old Buff Orpington seems to be really afraid of the rooster, also a 1 1/2 year old Buff Orpington. At first I thought she was just the bottom of the pecking order and afraid of all the other chickens. She would remain roosting in the coop rather than go out into the run with all the others. Once the others were let out to free range she would sometimes come out into the run but would still spend most of her time in the coop or up on a roosting bar I have suspended in the run. I started getting concerned that she wasn't eating and drinking enough so I put a small dish of water in the coop and a small feeder. I also started feeding her scratch by hand and she has become super friendly with me and seems to have gained confidence. If I am out with the flock she will come along. As I said at first I thought she was the bottom of the pecking order but now that I can observe her with the others I see that she has no problem with the other hens, it is only the rooster. She intentionally keeps her distance and if he goes after her to mount her she goes into a terror. I will add that he is the first friendly rooster I have ever had. I have had to dispatch 2 previous roosters because they became very aggressive toward me and were very rough with the hens. All the other hens seem to accept him willingly and for the first time since I have been keeping chickens I don't have any hens that need a chicken saddles. I doubt there is anything I can do to repair their relationship but just wondering if this is common situation. As winter sets in my chickens will be spending a lot of time in only the coop and run, they don't like snow so my shy hen will be spending all her time in the coop to avoid the rooster. Other than making sure she always has access to food and water is there anything else I can to keep her comfortable?

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

I would either get rid of the rooster - rehome if possible - or separate him from the flock. If a hen is stressed she will not lay any eggs so you want to make sure that the hens are comfortable at all times.
How old is the rooster - younger, older, same age??

 

[Penpal]

You might not need to ostracize him. Separate them into two groups, always keeping the rooster and the shy bird apart. Then, they each have friends.

 

[wrathsfarm]

Could you post pics of hen. How long has this been going on?

Possible she's going into molt? Hens will stay off by themselves and especially away from their Roo during this time. Winter cold will keep them in their coop.

 

[SamLockwood]

I had a couple of hens that were rooster-phobic when I introduced them to the flock, especially when the boys got to that difficult stage at 5 to 6 months when the hormones really kicked in.

Eventually things calmed down, but for about six weeks I thought I'd made a terrible mistake. Part of what helped was that for every hen that was skittish around the boys, I had two that didn't take any guff and literally beat good manners into the boys. It's also because the coop & run setup I have and the free-ranging areas have plenty of places for birds to get visually separated from each other. This seems to defuse a lot of potentially bad situations: birds with tendency to bully seem to forget their victims when they can't see them, and birds that feel persecuted calm down when they can't see their opresser.

If you've finally found a good rooster after several tries and only one hen is the problem, I'd sooner get rid of the hen than the rooster. Or you could try to add some dividers or screens in your coop / run setup and see if your nervous girl calms down.

 

[gimmie birdies]

I have 2 fatty meat birds I rescued from my neighborhood. They are huge now, but I am not going to process them. I also have a goose, who is in his own pen, but if he gets out he thinks they are goose hens and chases them. If the goose gets out they run and hide behind a coop building. Funny how the goose only goes after them if I am not around.

 

[LuciferRoo]

It may be that this rooster's physique is not comparable with hers.
Try putting a saddle on her.
He may be not able to stand on her back correctly and hurts her while trying to stay up there and balance himself.
I would check her sides for injuries.
This is what happened with one of my hens. I had to separate her from the rooster as mating with him was resulting in injuries.
He's not abrasive and the other girls don't have this problem.

 

[HeritageFan]

I have a flock of 18 hens and 1 rooster. One of the hens, a 1 1/2 year old Buff Orpington seems to be really afraid of the rooster, also a 1 1/2 year old Buff Orpington. At first I thought she was just the bottom of the pecking order and afraid of all the other chickens. She would remain roosting in the coop rather than go out into the run with all the others. Once the others were let out to free range she would sometimes come out into the run but would still spend most of her time in the coop or up on a roosting bar I have suspended in the run. I started getting concerned that she wasn't eating and drinking enough so I put a small dish of water in the coop and a small feeder. I also started feeding her scratch by hand and she has become super friendly with me and seems to have gained confidence. If I am out with the flock she will come along. As I said at first I thought she was the bottom of the pecking order but now that I can observe her with the others I see that she has no problem with the other hens, it is only the rooster. She intentionally keeps her distance and if he goes after her to mount her she goes into a terror. I will add that he is the first friendly rooster I have ever had. I have had to dispatch 2 previous roosters because they became very aggressive toward me and were very rough with the hens. All the other hens seem to accept him willingly and for the first time since I have been keeping chickens I don't have any hens that need a chicken saddles. I doubt there is anything I can do to repair their relationship but just wondering if this is common situation. As winter sets in my chickens will be spending a lot of time in only the coop and run, they don't like snow so my shy hen will be spending all her time in the coop to avoid the rooster. Other than making sure she always has access to food and water is there anything else I can to keep her comfortable?

If you don’t want to cull her from the flock, personally, I’d just let her be and stop w the extra attention/ treats.
IMO
She needs to be part of the the main flock, or go to freezer camp before she convinces anyone else that they can get special / extra attention for refusing his attention.
Whether or not that makes sense for your flock depends entirely on your goals, however.
Only you can actually answer that question -

 

[Jasfarm]

I have the same thing. I have two OGs that will be 4/5 years this coming spring. They were rehomed to us at ~2 years. Then we have 4 lav orps who will be 2 this spring. The 6 “littles” including the roo who are 8 months.

My OGs HATE the roo. They keep a wide berth. Jeannie fought him 2x but unfortunately, lost the last battle but will not submit to him. He doesn’t attack her and is not aggressive, but he does make sure his girls get food first and makes sure she knows she isn’t invited. Debbie, was going through a molt so she just avoids him like the plague. She is usually head hen so we’ll see what happens.

The lavenders - 2 have succumbed to his mating dance. Still learning to trust him. But don’t avoid him so that’s a good sign. 1 is molting but she has also fought him and kicked his booty both times so she is actually the one who puts him in place at times. He gives her a wide berth. The other one wants nothing to do with him and hangs out with Debbie and Jeannie.

All the littles have mated with him except one. But they are bffs and we think she is just a spunky chicken. She thinks she’s a roo and he just lets her do her thing.

This is our first experience with Roos. We had another but he was TOO aggressive and went to another farm. The light Brahma seems to be good so far. I definitely watch for aggressive behavior. I think the main sign I look for is if the girls are scared that he doesn’t chase them or attack them. He will back off. Sometimes the mating will be a tad much, but I know from others that it can be a bit brutal, you don’t want them drawing blood though. He never has and the girls won’t run away after. They continue to hang by him so I take it as a good sign.

I hope all works out with your roo!!

 

[pohhtf]

I have the same thing. I have two OGs that will be 4/5 years this coming spring. They were rehomed to us at ~2 years. Then we have 4 lav orps who will be 2 this spring. The 6 “littles” including the roo who are 8 months.

My OGs HATE the roo. They keep a wide berth. Jeannie fought him 2x but unfortunately, lost the last battle but will not submit to him. He doesn’t attack her and is not aggressive, but he does make sure his girls get food first and makes sure she knows she isn’t invited. Debbie, was going through a molt so she just avoids him like the plague. She is usually head hen so we’ll see what happens.

The lavenders - 2 have succumbed to his mating dance. Still learning to trust him. But don’t avoid him so that’s a good sign. 1 is molting but she has also fought him and kicked his booty both times so she is actually the one who puts him in place at times. He gives her a wide berth. The other one wants nothing to do with him and hangs out with Debbie and Jeannie.

All the littles have mated with him except one. But they are bffs and we think she is just a spunky chicken. She thinks she’s a roo and he just lets her do her thing.

This is our first experience with Roos. We had another but he was TOO aggressive and went to another farm. The light Brahma seems to be good so far. I definitely watch for aggressive behavior. I think the main sign I look for is if the girls are scared that he doesn’t chase them or attack them. He will back off. Sometimes the mating will be a tad much, but I know from others that it can be a bit brutal, you don’t want them drawing blood though. He never has and the girls won’t run away after. They continue to hang by him so I take it as a good sign.

I hope all works out with your roo!!

Tether rooster for minimum 30 days in center of open. Only hens that want him will go to him. Release and see if he goes directly to hen on question, prevent contact. You'll have you answer, either he goes or that hen will have to go if things get messy. This task is meant to redirect his focus on what is given him verses what he is free to take. Physc training.