Is "harem" the correct term?

[Dmontgomery]

39 chickens, 3 are roosters. Each rooster has certain hens that stay around him during the day while they free range and roost together at night. (Yes, I have 3 seperate roosting areas in the coop.) Is each group of hens a harem or is that an offensive term to you ladies out there?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

You can call them whatever you want. I call them a flock, and would say you have 3 different flocks. I've not heard the term harem ever used.

 

[aart]

39 chickens, 3 are roosters. Each rooster has certain hens that stay around him during the day while they free range and roost together at night. (Yes, I have 3 seperate roosting areas in the coop.) Is each group of hens a harem or is that an offensive term to you ladies out there?

Yes, harem is a viable term for animals according to Dictionary.com
Animal Behavior. a social group of females, as elephant seals,accompanied or followed by one fertile male who denies other malesaccess to the group.

@centrarchid uses this term for groups within his flock.

 

[Dmontgomery]

Ok, thank you. The different hen groups are definitely devoted to one specific rooster. Even our new Guinea has decided to follow one specific guy and rarely strays from his side.

 

[centrarchid]

Yes, term as you use is suitable. When chickens in natural social groups the flock is not the best discriptor. I use the term sub-flocks for groups of juveniles that occupy a common home range but do not move about as a single cohesive group. A given harem can give rise to multiple sub-flocks during the course of a season. Harem and sub-flock structure becomes fluid during heavy molt through roughly winter solstice.

You are observing some of the more interesting chicken behaviors where they demonstrate more complex social behaviors and organization.

 

[aart]

RE: @Dmontgomery 's ovation comment...
.....always best to start a new thread for intelligent questions, then other folks with more knowledge than I can chime in,
and everyone can benefit from the discussion either now or with future searches. <thumbsup!>