my rooster is being attacked by my hens

[CleverCluck]

i have 10 hens and 1 rooster, who are about 4 months old, the rooster is a white crested polish blue, so he is the smallest of the bunch with the exception of the polish hen i bought with him (he was supposed to be a hen too) anyway i went to let them out this morning and the whole back of Lou's head is blood red and his beautiful head feathers are almost gone! why did they do this to him? they have never bothered him before. i noticed over the weekend he crowed for the first time, which was hilarious, but i am really concerned the hens are going to kill him, they are much much bigger, i have 4 brahmas, a cochin, 2 barred rocks and 2 rhode island reds, all hens, and they have never bothered Thelma, my female polish, what is happening and will they kill him? he has turned out to be my favorite!

 

[chickens really]

Well certain breeds don't do well together. Crested birds can be targeted just because they are different. Docile breeds with aggressive breeds sometimes doesn't work well either..

 

[CleverCluck]

but why just all of a sudden? they have always gotten along fine, they pile up together like best friends, and even now Lou doesnt act afraid of them, do you think he is old enough that he is trying to get on them?

 

[chickens really]

but why just all of a sudden? they have always gotten along fine, they pile up together like best friends, and even now Lou doesnt act afraid of them, do you think he is old enough that he is trying to get on them?

Definitely hormones are changing..

 

[CleverCluck]

so what now?

 

[chickens really]

Well you can wait and see how things go or separate him and the Pullet together..

 

[chickens really]

Also he isn't a Rooster but a Cockerel and it takes them up to a year old to be fully mature and confident enough to set the Hens straight..

 

[CleverCluck]

should i do anything to the injuries on his head? and of the breeds i named that i have is one more likely than the others to do this to him?

 

[Chickassan]

I'd wager your RIR girls shut him up.
Those girls are firey and i'm thinking his little teenage crows rubbed them wrong.

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

Greetings CleverCluck,

The pecking of your rooster's crest feathers, probably started as curiosity. But because of his immaturity, he did not know how to react, or was overwhelmed by the girls. Some roosters are slow to mature, or just have a very gentle demeanor.

I have a little ameruacana rooster that was very immature, and wanted to snuggle under mama's feathers at roost time. He got pecked, mercilessly for his efforts. He was a late bloomer rooster, as well. Each morning, I remove him from the pen. He has his own feeder and water outside the pen, in the shade. He is free to roam and explore, but is discovering that he is a rooster. So, he guards the hens for half of the day. When the hens are released to forage, the little rooster (Covey), is put into another pen. He is not allowed with the hens at this time. He needs to mature and develop certain rooster behaviors, first. At night, he sleeps in a crate in the main coop with the hens. I test his progress once a month, by allowing him to be with hens and observing behaviors. It has been slow going, but, I expect him to be with the hens full time, by August, or sooner.

Your young rooster needs to mature, and more importantly, he needs to heal completely from the injury. The hens could possibly kill him. It will be a different story, once he is 8 or 9 months. He should come into his full roosterness by then!

Hopefully you can arrange to give him time away from the hens, but still have the ability to see them.

Crested birds are sometimes irresistible targets for pecking. One of my crested cream legbars had a lot of her crest feathers removed by flock members. You will have to be vigilant of your other polish hen. She may be targeted, too, now that the rooster is out of the mix.

These are my thoughts on your chicken's issue. I hope I have been helpful.

God Bless