Hens being aggressive towards rooster

[ILIKEDUCKS]

Hi guys I have a flock of 12 chickens and I have two roosters both my roosters have always got along even at adulthood but recently my hens have been ganging up on them and attacking them one of them already seriously injured and separated from the flock now the other rooster keeps getting attacked and isn’t getting any food, any advice?

 

[slordaz]

they may be fighting back due to over breeding, usually you want to have 8-10 hens per rooster. simpleest way to check is put roosters by themselves for a bit and see how things go, if it goes ok after a few days reintroduce 1 of them back in. keep em where they can see each other though. uf that goes ok then add the other one back in. that will tell you, and you may have to either rehome one rooster or get more hens.

 

[ILIKEDUCKS]

they may be fighting back due to over breeding, usually you want to have 8-10 hens per rooster. simpleest way to check is put roosters by themselves for a bit and see how things go, if it goes ok after a few days reintroduce 1 of them back in. keep em where they can see each other though. uf that goes ok then add the other one back in. that will tell you, and you may have to either rehome one rooster or get more hens.

Thanks for the reply but I have only seen one of them try to breed with them and one of them is a Japanese bantam and the other is a barred rock

 

[slordaz]

Thanks for the reply but I have only seen one of them try to breed with them and one of them is a Japanese bantam and the other is a barred rock

doesn't mean the other doesn't try and aggravate them, could be the hens just don't like the roosters too, Mine would attack the one rooster I got at first and had to rehome him just cause they had pms and he was the wrong color lol, was a black/white and gold one, got em the one in my avatar and they love him been nice and peaceful along with a lot of chicks hatched ever since.
of course this one lets the hen boss him around too but he's very good to them and they know he protects them..

How old are your roosters? Sometimes the younger ones force themselves on a hen and will also cause this behavior if the hens aren't willing,

 

[ILIKEDUCKS]

doesn't mean the other doesn't try and aggravate them, could be the hens just don't like the roosters too, Mine would attack the one rooster I got at first and had to rehome him just cause they had pms and he was the wrong color lol, was a black/white and gold one, got em the one in my avatar and they love him been nice and peaceful along with a lot of chicks hatched ever since.
of course this one lets the hen boss him around too but he's very good to them and they know he protects them..

How old are your roosters? Sometimes the younger ones force themselves on a hen and will also cause this behavior if the hens aren't willing,

20 weeks old

 

[slordaz]

They are still young cockerels , roosters mellow out with age, I would keep em both separated from the hens for a while but in site of each other, you still got probably another 4-6 months before their hormones level out.

if you just use a divider to do it, the hens will tell you when they are more willing to accept them as they will go over and socialize with them

 

[ILIKEDUCKS]

They are still young cockerels , roosters mellow out with age, I would keep em both separated from the hens for a while but in site of each other, you still got probably another 4-6 months before their hormones level out.

if you just use a divider to do it, the hens will tell you when they are more willing to accept them as they will go over and socialize with them

Ok thanks a lot for your help

 

[aart]

20 weeks old

Yeah, those are not 'adults'.
Are all your birds 20 weeks old?
Are the girls laying yet?
They may be close to laying and they can get 'crabby' at that time.

FYI.....semantics, maybe, but can be important communication terms when discussing chicken behavior.
Female chickens are called pullets until one year of age, then they are called hens.
Male chickens are called cockerels until one year of age, then they are called cocks(or cockbirds or roosters).
Age in weeks or months is always a good thing to note.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

Hi guys I have a flock of 12 chickens and I have two roosters both my roosters have always got along even at adulthood but recently my hens have been ganging up on them and attacking them one of them already seriously injured and separated from the flock now the other rooster keeps getting attacked and isn’t getting any food, any advice?

Just make sure there is plenty of room inside the run and that the two roosters have places to hide and go to if they are getting attacked. I think at most of the time problems arise because of lack of room. How big is your run?