Hen won’t roost

[Phaefner]

I have 15 hens and 1 (accidental) rooster (Mortimer). I have noticed Mortimer kind of bullies a couple of the girls. He picks on the 2 largest girls. I don’t allow it when I’m in the coop or the yard but I’m sure once I’m gone he does his thing because we have missing feathers. One of the girls (Patsy) no longer gets on the roost at night. She sleeps on the floor..not even on the ledge of the laying boxes. Any suggestions on how to rectify the problem...or is it not even a real problem?

My coop is 10x12 with 3 10’ long roosts. Most all of them cram on the top one, which leave essentially 2 free roost bars. I don’t think space is the issue.

We got Patsy in August (with 10 other hens). Mort came in October with 5 other hens. Mort was suppose to be a Lacy ‍

I could move her to the coop with my ducks and turkeys but my thought is he will just pick on someone else.

 

[sourland]

As long as she is getting enough to eat and drink and is not being physically injured, I would tend to not intervene. In my flock if his bullying escalated, he would have to go. You are correct in guessing that frequently once his target is removed such a rooster generally picks another hen to bully.

 

[DellaMyDarling]

I have a hen that just doesn't roost at night. Sometimes she'll go join the others for a few minutes, but always returns to sleep alone on top of the nest boxes.
Meh, whatevs. She clearly has space and chooses otherwise.

 

[rosemarythyme]

As long as she's not getting pooped on it doesn't hurt her to be on the floor.

I have a hen with balance and foot issues and sometimes she roosts by herself on a low bar, sometimes she falls off and spends the night on the floor.

 

[Phaefner]

As long as she is getting enough to eat and drink and is not being physically injured, I would tend to not intervene. In my flock if his bullying escalated, he would have to go. You are correct in guessing that frequently once his target is removed such a rooster generally picks another hen to bully.

I don’t think he’s really hurting her. He just mounts rough but he’s also a young rooster. I’m new to chickens and I don’t really know how a rooster is suppose to act. To me he is just trying to get to the top of the pecking order...Patsy use to pick on him and it seems the tables have turned.
I don’t really want to cull him because if I have to move them to where my ducks and turkeys are, the run isn’t as secure and I’d really like a rooster around to protect.

 

[aart]

To me he is just trying to get to the top of the pecking order...Patsy use to pick on him and it seems the tables have turned.

She may not have submitted to his dominance.
Ages of birds, in months, might shed some light here.

 

[Phaefner]

She may not have submitted to his dominance.
Ages of birds, in months, might shed some light here.

We got the hen as a chic in August of ‘18. We got the rooster as a chic in October of ‘18
So she is 9 months and he is 7 months

 

[aart]

He may need more time to 'mature'....or he may just be a jerk and need to go.

 

[chkva]

I have a hen that doesn't roost at night and I do nothing about it because she seems to like where she sleeps. She sleeps in a nesting box only she uses (we have other nesting boxes) and it is outside in the run next to the chicks run. She's been sleeping in that nesting box since the day I bought her.

A rooster can become quite the pain when they resexual maturity or they can be quite the asset to a flock. You never know what you're going to get until they age, but sometimes waiting can do more damage than good. Removing the hen that he picks on will only make him pick on another hen most likely.

Your hen might be like my hen and doesn't sumbit to anyone so they pick on her because they are waiting for her to submit. She won't give in at all... My chickens have not pulled out feathers or caused any damage though.

You can buy chicken saddles so that your chickens have less feather damage from the rooster.