Hens attacking while rooster mates

[dskowron]

We have an Ayam Cimani rooster who takes care of his flock of 5 Australorpes, one Wyandotte and one EE. Whenever he mates with one of the Aussies, the Wyandotte attacks her viciously while the short mating ritual takes place. And SHE gets attacked by the EE whenever the roo is on her. I have not seen one of the Aussies attack another Aussie during the ritual. The Aussies are very gentle and will let me pick them up. The others are not like this.

Why the attacks during mating?

 

[thecatumbrella]

If I pick up one of my birds, then set them back down, any nearby flockmate will come peck them on the head. Same if I need to do a health check and hold one in my lap.

Chickens take cheap shots. Real brave of them to do it while the other one is getting mated, right?

 

[dskowron]

As much as I really enjoy raising them, chickens kinda suck in some ways - this being one of them.

 

[thecatumbrella]

As much as I really enjoy raising them, chickens kinda suck in some ways - this being one of them.

I hear you. They're like nature's drama queens.

 

[Altairsky]

If I pick up one of my birds, then set them back down, any nearby flockmate will come peck them on the head.

Wow... My flock must be made of saints. The other night I was baffled to see that my bachelor flock and my main flock merged and they were all roosting together. They're so peaceful I don't have the urge to cull the extra males anymore.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Why the attacks during mating?

How old are the different chickens? That could be very instructive.

To me, this sounds like the male is still a cockerel and the EE and Wyandotte are dominant hens. The Australorp accept his dominance and willingly mate him. The other two don't and interrupt him when he tries to mate. I would not be surprised that he has to force the Wyandotte when he tries to mate her.

What I normally see when a dominant hen interferes is that she knocks the cockerel off, not that she attacks the pullet or hen being mated. But basically it is the kind of stuff you see when a cockerel is maturing into a rooster and one or two hens isn't ready for that.

 

[thecatumbrella]

Wow... My flock must be made of saints. The other night I was baffled to see that my bachelor flock and my main flock merged and they were all roosting together. They're so peaceful I don't have the urge to cull the extra males anymore.

Once in a while, I go through a period where everyone is gentle and gets along. It’s like a dream!