Hen attacking rooster

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BlossomSilkies

BlossomSilkies

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I have a small flock of silkies. 7 hens and 1 rooster. He is the youngest, just maturing, and about 6 months old. One of my hens hates him. She attacks, she is the aggressor, out of no where she will start a fight, he fights back and they go round and round, she has drawn blood. Should I let them figure it out? Do I need to get rid of her? I love them both, and he seems to have the potential to be a really good rooster for my flock. I have years of experience with chickens, and have never run into this.
 
BlossomSilkies said:
I have a small flock of silkies. 7 hens and 1 rooster. He is the youngest, just maturing, and about 6 months old. One of my hens hates him. She attacks, she is the aggressor, out of no where she will start a fight, he fights back and they go round and round, she has drawn blood. Should I let them figure it out? Do I need to get rid of her? I love them both, and he seems to have the potential to be a really good rooster for my flock. I have years of experience with chickens, and have never run into this.
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Does she stop attacking on her own? Or do you have to interfere?
 
BlossomSilkies said:
I have a small flock of silkies. 7 hens and 1 rooster. He is the youngest, just maturing, and about 6 months old. One of my hens hates him. She attacks, she is the aggressor, out of no where she will start a fight, he fights back and they go round and round, she has drawn blood. Should I let them figure it out? Do I need to get rid of her? I love them both, and he seems to have the potential to be a really good rooster for my flock. I have years of experience with chickens, and have never run into this.
Click to expand...
Sounds like she's the head honcho and he's just not up to snuff yet.
Older girls almost always harass and test cockerels to some extent until they get old and bold enough to dominate them. You could remove him for awhile until he gets more mature or you could remove her and reintroduce her later after he gains some more confidence.
 
You don't have a rooster, you have an immature cockerel. He is in puberty and the hormones have hit so I agree with Geena. Sometimes the dominant hen can be pretty brutal to a cockerel. Some people call that schooling a cockerel, I consider it that she is brutalizing him as she tries to hang onto her flock dominance. At some point he should mature to the point that he will win those fights.

I don't know how this will play out in the future. I go through this almost every year. I play with genetics so I replace my rooster practically every year with a cockerel. My situation is different to yours because until he is five months old he has a mature rooster in the flock. I eat the mature rooster and a hen becomes the dominant flock master until the cockerel matures enough to take over, usually by seven months of age but I've had them go 11 months. Most years that takeover is pretty peaceful but it has turned violent like yours a time or two. I believe that is when the cockerel isn't mature enough or strong willed enough to impress the top girl and she is strong willed enough to want to hang on to the top position. I believe the hen's personality has a part to play in this too, it's not all the boy's weakness.

I let mine fight it out and it is usually over in two days. But I don't seen blood, you have. So my suggestions follow Geena's. Isolate him for a month or so and try it again. If he doesn't mature enough in that time to take over lock him up for another month and try again. Or lock her up for a couple of weeks and try again. If it doesn't work, rinse and repeat. It is possible he is so weak willed and she is so strong willed that she will never accept his dominance but given his current age I'd expect either of these to eventually work. He's just a little boy, not ready to be a man.
 
I have decided to rehome the hen. She has gone back to the home where she was hatched and I just found out she is attacking a young rooster there that came from the same flock as my rooster and actually resembles him, but much smaller.

She is the aggressor, and only mean to my young rooster, she was never mean to any of the girls. He is not aggressive or mean to my hens and has the potential to be a really good rooster for my flock, plus he is gorgeous. I even have a hen who currently has 4 one-month old chicks, and he doesn't bother them at all. I have a peaceful flock again.
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