My Rooster attacked my hen :-(

[MisUnderstood]

My Rooster Clark is about 2 - 2 1/2 years old. He's a Barred Rock. He is my only rooster. I have 8 hens. Frankie(Hen) is about 10 months old. She is a beautiful brown leghorn.

Clark has never accepted Frankie, he always chases her till she runs away to be by herself. She is a happy healthy hen.
Lately she has been squatting down for him to mate with her. He will peck/bite her comb then he pecks her eye.
He doesn't seem interested in breeding with her, he would rather pick on her.

Today he gouged her eye lid so bad it's bleeding. I quickly dabbed her eye with a paper towel to dry the blood. There is no damage to the eye that I can see at this time but all around it it is cut and swelling. She is now separated from the flock (the other hens get along with her). I separated her so she can clam down from the stress & injury and also so that the others don't go after her if they see blood.

Is there anything I can put on her eye to help it heal that won't sting/burn or do more damage to it? Can I wash it with eye drops or saline? I have some Poultry Protector but I don't think I should use that near her eye?

Any ideas on how to help treat her wound and what to do so the Rooster won't attack her again?
Tonight he is separated from the flock and in a coop by himself. I'm not sure that will help but I don't know what else to do to make him stop being aggressive towards her. She is the only hen he picks on.

Thank you for any helpful advise

 

[forgetful]

Is it still openly bleeding? If not, I'd leave it be. Chickens can heal very well on her own. I'd just offer a lot of food and water and keep her unstressed. I'm not sure what to offer on the rooster situation.

 

[MisUnderstood]

Thank you forgetful, the bleeding has stopped and she is eating well this morning. Her eye looks terrible but at least it's around the eye and the actual eye is not damaged. She looks like she went 10 rounds with Rocky! I will keep her separated till she heals completely.

 

[dawg53]

You can flush her eye with saline solution and put a small dab of neosporin in her eye 3 times a day until it's healed. Keeping your rooster seperated isnt a good idea as he will be more aggressive once released with your hens...he'll make a beeline straight to Frankie and possibly cause worse harm. Have you actually seen seen Clark tread Frankie or simply attack her? If he did tread her, it could appear he is harming her, she could be his favorite hen. If you saw him attack her without treading, consider getting rid of Clark or getting rid of Frankie. Or, you can keep Clark seperated permanently and keep Frankie.

 

[Michael Apple]

Barred Rocks are a large dual purpose breed with mature roosters weighing close to 10 lbs. on average. Leghorn hens are less than 1/2 that weight. It is never a good idea to keep larger breed cocks with smaller breed hens. Anyone who tells you it doesn't matter doesn't know what they're talking about. Barred Rock roosters are known for their common aggression.

 

[MisUnderstood]

Good evening Dawg53

Thank you for the info on the Saline & Neosporin. I will do that.
I also let Clark out of his pen this morning because I figured he didn't even know why he was in time out.

I've never seen Clark tread Frankie, he only attacks her. I think he is jealous because she is as pretty as he is!

I decided today that Clark has to go. Frankie is a sweetie and she's staying. I will find him a good home and let the new owners know why I am giving him away.

 

[MisUnderstood]

Barred Rocks are a large dual purpose breed with mature roosters weighing close to 10 lbs. on average. Leghorn hens are less than 1/2 that weight. It is never a good idea to keep larger breed cocks with smaller breed hens. Anyone who tells you it doesn't matter doesn't know what they're talking about. Barred Rock roosters are known for their common aggression.

Thank you Michael Apple,
I didn't realize about the size difference. I will pay attention to that when I choose my next flock. Right now I have 1 brown leghorn, 2 RIR's, 2 buffs & 3 mixed jersey giants.

If there is a non aggressive breed of Rooster I'd love to get one

 

[forgetful]

I've heard salmon faverolles are extremely docile. Roos get beat up by other breeds. Wyandottes are calm as well. Just remember that even in docile breeds there are aggressive individuals. I think you made the right decision in getting rid of your aggressive rooster. New roosters are very easy to find.

 

[Michael Apple]

Thank you Michael Apple,
I didn't realize about the size difference. I will pay attention to that when I choose my next flock. Right now I have 1 brown leghorn, 2 RIR's, 2 buffs & 3 mixed jersey giants.

If there is a non aggressive breed of Rooster I'd love to get one

You're welcome. That Barred Rock rooster is a proper size for all your hens except that brown Leghorn. To me a flock isn't complete without a rooster. They keep hens from getting nasty with each other, alert the flock to predators, protect them, find food and let them have it before he does, etc. Out of all the roosters I ever had, all were aggressive to some extent except a Cuckoo Marans rooster I had. It is normal for a rooster to be assertive and aggressive when being protective of his hens, when Spring comes, so long as they do not injure hens. When cockerels come into maturity, they begin chasing hens, then learn how to subdue them and it may take some practice for them. Sometimes you might see a slight injury that draws blood on the comb if he grabs a hen, and the hen struggles. Pullets learn to submit and cockerels learn how to subdue them without injury.

Feather loss on the back of hens is normal, but that becomes less with the right ratio of hens to a rooster. I like at least 10 hens per rooster, and see little feather loss on my hens, though I can tell which ones he favors compared to others. I have a California Gray cockerel. They have a personality comparable to Leghorns since that is in their lineage. He will be 1 year old in March and he's aggressive, but I can handle him and keep his spurs blunt, not just for me, but for the hens. I'll clip spurs with a large pair of dog nail clippers and file the end so they are rounded. If I don't rush around, he's usually not too combative. If he starts acting like a thug attacking me, I just grab him gently, hold him for a bit, and talk to him gently. He remains calm after that. I'm glad I have him since he's a good protector of his flock. They mature at about 6 lbs. while the hens mature at about 4.5 lbs., so there's not much of a weight difference.

 

[dawg53]

I've heard salmon faverolles are extremely docile. Roos get beat up by other breeds. Wyandottes are calm as well. Just remember that even in docile breeds there are aggressive individuals. I think you made the right decision in getting rid of your aggressive rooster. New roosters are very easy to find.

LOL. I had a Salmon Faverolle rooster that ALWAYS attacked me. We played football alot...he was the football and I was the punter.