Hens attacking Roo?

[mommaEchols]

Hey guys, my hens have suddenly turned on the resident Roo, and his comb is in sorry shape. I have it on the mend,and kept him seperated for a few days but every time I try to re-introduce him back to the flock they go straight for him again. I am unsure of what to do. As far as his comb goes, a little unclear on how to manage that, I got the bleeding stopped, cleaned and disinfected it. Any thing else I should do? He seems to be ok, and acting normal (even a bit sweeter than before) Any advice on this situation would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[auburn]

How many girls do you have? How long have you had him in comparison to them? He really might just be an unlucky boy on the bottom of the pecking order. Is he crowing and/or attempting to mate them (or at least was before they turned on him)?

 

[mommaEchols]

They are all the same age, 6 months old and have been raised together. He crows, and was mating them before they turned on him, and he WAS at some point top of the ladder. We have 5 hens, and 1 Roo (got them straight run, but couldnt bear to part with him) So this is just so out of the blue, and unexpected?

 

[auburn]

You could always blue kote his comb though I'm not sure how much that'd help. Luckily even though it can bleed a lot a missing comb isn't much of a hazard. Many people just use scissors to dub an injured or floppy comb, and then dunk it in cold water right after. I had a hen cut most of her comb torn off by another hen and it's healed fine, so at least that's not too big an issue.

We have two pens and a dog kennel which are all set up next to each other and only separated by fencing. We've found that keeping young pullets in the kennel right by the main pen for a week or two really cuts down on the aggression from the older girls once they're officially introduced, since all of them are used to being by and seeing each other. You could always do something similar and keep him in an adjacent pen where they can see him but not reach him.

 

[auburn]

Hey, so how are things currently for your roo?

 

[mommaEchols]

Actually the situation has not gotten better. I kept him isolated until the wound had healed up, and there was no blood, but every time I try to reintroduce him, they seem ok for a while, and when I turn my back, they literaly go for him. And they keep going for his poor comb. I am unsure what to do, the guy has turned into a fantastic Roo, so Im at wits end on it. Any suggestions would be great! Thanks so much

 

[ten chicks]

Actually the situation has not gotten better. I kept him isolated until the wound had healed up, and there was no blood, but every time I try to reintroduce him, they seem ok for a while, and when I turn my back, they literaly go for him. And they keep going for his poor comb. I am unsure what to do, the guy has turned into a fantastic Roo, so Im at wits end on it. Any suggestions would be great! Thanks so much

If there is one hen in particular that is the worst for attacking him,separate her for awhile. If there are two,separate them both,you want to change the dynamics of the coop,re-establish pecking order. Put him with hens that are the most docile with him,until he resumes his place as head roo. Hope this may help you.

 

[auburn]

Agree with ten chicks. Also remember that if he has been separated from the others out of view, reintroducing him means he's once more out of the loop on the pecking order, and has to re-find his place. Pecking is likely.

I also again recommend blue koting his comb, at least until he becomes more dominant in the pecking order. If nothing else it might help keeping them from going after his poor comb!

Hope things look up for your poor guy!