My young rooster just killed one of the hens

[disduuuuuude]

Maybe the rooster was gay and you just took his two "friends" away

 

[coop410silkies]

This just happened to us yesterday. Still shocked. The rooster was hand raised by my sister. He is sweet, and has showed no signs of aggression. He doesn't even crow. He was younger then the hens, but now grown up, he has become the 'rooster' and and has been taking care of the hens fairly respectfully it has seemed. I let the chookies out to have some freedom, and up outside the house window right in view he brutally killed one of the hens. He held her down and pecked her face until she died. My partner saw it but did not reach her quick enough to save her. The rooster himself was covered in blood. It seemed her head was caught under the garden hose and I wondered if it might have been a mercy killing, but on inspection it would have been easy for her to get out. I am concerned he will do it again, and that we have a psychopathic wife bashing rooster on the loose. I am so confused because he was completely gentle, with us and the hens before this incident.

Wow, how awful! If you've read my previous posts, you know that I've had similar experiences and have given a lot of thought to this aberrant behavior. And I still don't have any answers; if anything, the problem has gotten worse. Every SS rooster I have let out to free range with the hens has gotten hen and human aggressive, and I'm starting to feel comfortable about sacrificing them all but one. My Light Sussex Roos are mellow, not like the Speckled Sussex at all, so I'm thinking it's not my fault, that maybe it is the breed? On the other hand, some SS breeders insist this is not normal for the breed, and so it might be some kind of situational problem. In every case of hen aggression, it was against a hen that was not a member of his hatch group or any relative. Some people speculate that a roo will punish a disobedient hen that will not submit to him. In any event, I have found that isolating the bad guys and putting them in rooster jails has been my most satisfying solution. I am building some feeders and waterers that can be accessed from outside the coop, so I need not come in contact with them, and I purchased an inexpensive fishing net which makes catching and handling them very easy. My advice is to not let your rooster be dominant. Push him off the hens when he mounts them in your presence, pin him with a net if he gets in a tiff, and don't let him up until you are done with your chores. If he doesn't stay away, go after him with the net, and keep at it until he gets the idea. If he takes his displeasure out on the hens when you are not around, isolate him, preferably somewhere where he can't see the hens. You will end up doing whatever you have to do and what you can live with - everyone is different about this, it seems, and what works for one person may not work for the other. What does work for everyone is staying in communication. Keep trying and good luck and keep posting.

 

[All Ball]

Wow, how awful! If you've read my previous posts, you know that I've had similar experiences and have given a lot of thought to this aberrant behavior. And I still don't have any answers; if anything, the problem has gotten worse. Every SS rooster I have let out to free range with the hens has gotten hen and human aggressive, and I'm starting to feel comfortable about sacrificing them all but one. My Light Sussex Roos are mellow, not like the Speckled Sussex at all, so I'm thinking it's not my fault, that maybe it is the breed? On the other hand, some SS breeders insist this is not normal for the breed, and so it might be some kind of situational problem. In every case of hen aggression, it was against a hen that was not a member of his hatch group or any relative. Some people speculate that a roo will punish a disobedient hen that will not submit to him. In any event, I have found that isolating the bad guys and putting them in rooster jails has been my most satisfying solution. I am building some feeders and waterers that can be accessed from outside the coop, so I need not come in contact with them, and I purchased an inexpensive fishing net which makes catching and handling them very easy. My advice is to not let your rooster be dominant. Push him off the hens when he mounts them in your presence, pin him with a net if he gets in a tiff, and don't let him up until you are done with your chores. If he doesn't stay away, go after him with the net, and keep at it until he gets the idea. If he takes his displeasure out on the hens when you are not around, isolate him, preferably somewhere where he can't see the hens. You will end up doing whatever you have to do and what you can live with - everyone is different about this, it seems, and what works for one person may not work for the other. What does work for everyone is staying in communication. Keep trying and good luck and keep posting.

I am trying this at the moment with my cockerel (see my post at https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1097061/10-mo-old-cockerel-bullying-lead-hen#post_16876639). He is in a kennel where he can see and hear the girls free-ranging. I can test if anything has changed - I throw him food to tidbit and I can see that he won't tidbit the hen he is aggressing - she'll try to grab food through the chainlink like the other girls, and he'll grab her comb. Do you do it that way, or do you shut them away where they can't interact with the flock? And how long of an isolation did you find effective?

 

[coop410silkies]

I am trying this at the moment with my cockerel (see my post at https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1097061/10-mo-old-cockerel-bullying-lead-hen#post_16876639). He is in a kennel where he can see and hear the girls free-ranging. I can test if anything has changed - I throw him food to tidbit and I can see that he won't tidbit the hen he is aggressing - she'll try to grab food through the chainlink like the other girls, and he'll grab her comb. Do you do it that way, or do you shut them away where they can't interact with the flock? And how long of an isolation did you find effective?

Hi, All Ball, I am sorry to hear you are having trouble with your cockerel. I have maybe 5 SS roosters that are hen and/or human aggressive. (They are from previous hatches and straight run purchases; I've kept them for breeding purposes, not because I am overly fond of roosters). These nasty roosters have paired up and do their bullying as pairs. The cock I wish to use for breeding I am going to try to rehabilitate, and him I'm leaving with the hens. Two of the other young cocks have formed a trio with their sister, and while they are very good with their hen, her back is getting bare, and they are aggressive toward me. The remaining roaming pair of psychopaths attack all the hens, Roos, and me - whenever we come within twenty feet of them. They are terrorizing bullies, and these I have twice isolated in the past, once within view of hens, and once totally removed from them. These periods of segregation have lasted from 6 months to at least a year. When released from Rooster Jail, they fight the alpha roo and hens and press for leadership in the flock of hens they have never belonged to - and and they get it. Then they start their terrorizing, and the hens spend all their time running and hiding from them, and getting damaged by them. Sooooo, when I get their new jail built, it will be built roomy enough to keep them in it full time, and there will be little opportunity for them to interact with the hens. In fairness to them, they were not raised in a flock, only by themselves, and learned only bad manners from me, who spoiled them when they were babies. They are definitely not so aggressive when separated, and that's a strategy I'm keeping in mind. They are back up breeders - IF I find it possible to rehabilitate them. I can play God, and with my net, and I can easily put the fear of me into them. I'm thinking I can also keep their status within the flock lowered with judicious use of the net. I should also note that ONE of my SS Roos, a former wife beater and human aggressor, gained entrance into my layer coop after several months pleading as a peripheral, but ONLY as a very subdominant rooster in a flock already led by two other dominant Roos; to date, he is the only acceptably mannered SS I own. One thing I can verify is that it is far better to introduce a cock to an established flock of hens than it is to introduce hens into a cock's established territory. Your keeping the cock in a pen that is visually accessible to the hens will probably help in getting and keeping them acclimated to each other. IMO, cocks hold - or have - grudges, and yours may not get over it on his own with the hen. I think your thinking and approach are right for your situation. Having an alpha Roo that is good to all your hens is probably the best remedy for a bullying young cockerel, but failing that, my current thinking is that if you have only the bully, you may have to intervene and take the place of the alpha Roo who protects his flock from harm. If your bully does not shape up with the hen after a few months in the pen at the most, you may want to un pen him to let him make a few "mistakes" with the hen, which you will promptly correct with all the diligence of a good dominant Roo. Don't let him bully the hen and teach him good lessons. I have been experimenting with teaching my bully Roos some better manners: if they attack or mount hens while I am in the vicinity, I net them and keep them pinned for awhile; if they attack me or my dog, I pin them for even longer. I've been doing this for a couple of months now, while I work off and on on their jail; they no longer attack me - but I continue to carry the net around - and they are a bit better about letting the hens eat. Sometimes, I just want to keep my hens uninjured and in good repair, and then I segregate the Roo(s) in a pen that is totally closed to them (less fighting in the absence of hens), for as long as it takes the hen(s) to recover. My intention is to let only one Roo out at a time to find out which should be the only one, well-mannered "good" Roo to keep with the hens, and have him be the alpha. Good luck with your Roo; I hope some of these observations of my own Roos helps to provide some insight for you.

 

[All Ball]

Coop410silkies, thanks so much for sharing your experience and thoughts. Wow, you have really been dealing with some difficult boys. And yes, I can agree that memories, grudges and behavior can tend to get really ingrained with these birds. It's so frustrating, because he was very sweet with her just a few weeks ago and it's hard to fathom how anything could have taken place to turn him 180 degrees, but I guess that's roos for you. Thanks also about your suggestion, I am contemplating whether to try any sort of behavior mod on him - the chance of it working may be slim, but worth a try anyway before giving up and trying to trade him off. I think he'd likely be fine joining a flock of girls his age, and he otherwise shows good flock leader tendencies. I will just miss his chattering and his entertaining nature.

 

[fuzzy cat]

Can you help me I'm new and I need to no if my buff Orpington rooster will kil my hen I really worry

 

[fuzzy cat]

And I'm so sorry

 

[robdog]

Hen must be too young, It happened to me once when i put a big rooster wait a 4 month old hen at night... I go in there the next day to see a dead chicken right at the door no blood really but looked like a snapped neck.

Lesson learned don't put really young pullets with bully roosters.

 

[fuzzy cat]

I'm so sorry how do you Make it stop I have a rooster

 

[robdog]

I immediately took out the other small hen and just placed it aside and waited it out til the hen got bigger