Insecure Hen

[ChickPets]

Hello, fellow chick-peeps! I'm new to this chicken thing but all seems to be going very well with all of your great stories, recommendations and guidance. Thank you! I have a flock of eight chickens - 1 roo and 7 (I think they are) hens. I have one hen who wants nothing to do with the other chickens and only hangs out with me an my dogs. When we go in, she's in the coop. She HATES the roo, who chases her around the run/yard/coop. I fee bad for her and don't think she's got a great qualify of life. Any suggestions on what to do here?

 

[sourland]

Unless I really wanted fertile eggs, I would rehome the rooster.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Hello, fellow chick-peeps! I'm new to this chicken thing but all seems to be going very well with all of your great stories, recommendations and guidance. Thank you! I have a flock of eight chickens - 1 roo and 7 (I think they are) hens. I have one hen who wants nothing to do with the other chickens and only hangs out with me an my dogs. When we go in, she's in the coop. She HATES the roo, who chases her around the run/yard/coop. I fee bad for her and don't think she's got a great qualify of life. Any suggestions on what to do here?

How old are your chickens? - you sound a little unconvinced about their sexes. Any chance this one is not a pullet, but a second cockerel who is dominated by the known one? Sometimes when that happens, the second one doesn’t even attempt to crow.

 

[ChickPets]

Yeah, I'm not sure. I thought they were all hens when I got them as chicks. They are now 20 weeks old (just started laying!). I'm pretty confident that the "loner" is a pullet but I have doubts about some others. The dominant roo is constantly mounting everyone and crows all day so assume he's claiming dominance but she freaks out whenever he comes around her - runs around like a crazy, jumps on me, my dogs, top of the pen, etc. It's kind of sad.