Hi, I've been lurking for several months and usually can search for any answers without having to post a question but this time I'm can't find what I'm looking for. Very useful site for newbies like me.
My setup is 1 rooster, 6 hens - 2 buff orpingtons, 2 welsummers, and 2 golden buffs. They are about 6-7 months old and 5 of the 6 are laying. Everything seems to be going quite well so far. Rooster is maybe a month older than the girls. We got them all together and handled them quite a bit as youngsters so all are quite friendly.
The main reason for posting today is one of my buff orpingtons started acting odd yesterday. She pulls her head low to the ground and pulls her head/neck into herself and fluffs her feathers out big time with her back end in the air and gets a bit frenzied. She mostly seems to do this if she thinks the rooster is coming near her. It's almost a frantic, panic looking behavior trying to get away from him. I can't figure a way to describe it any better so I'm hoping someone will have an idea of what I'm trying to ask. We didn't notice the rooster picking on her before or yesterday when she did this, but today when I was laying a little treats down he seemed to want to go after her more than normal.
Also as a side question, does a rooster tend to mate with all hens? It seems he prefers a one or two of the hens and ignores the others for the most part.
Thanks for reading!
My setup is 1 rooster, 6 hens - 2 buff orpingtons, 2 welsummers, and 2 golden buffs. They are about 6-7 months old and 5 of the 6 are laying. Everything seems to be going quite well so far. Rooster is maybe a month older than the girls. We got them all together and handled them quite a bit as youngsters so all are quite friendly.
The main reason for posting today is one of my buff orpingtons started acting odd yesterday. She pulls her head low to the ground and pulls her head/neck into herself and fluffs her feathers out big time with her back end in the air and gets a bit frenzied. She mostly seems to do this if she thinks the rooster is coming near her. It's almost a frantic, panic looking behavior trying to get away from him. I can't figure a way to describe it any better so I'm hoping someone will have an idea of what I'm trying to ask. We didn't notice the rooster picking on her before or yesterday when she did this, but today when I was laying a little treats down he seemed to want to go after her more than normal.
Also as a side question, does a rooster tend to mate with all hens? It seems he prefers a one or two of the hens and ignores the others for the most part.
Thanks for reading!