New Rooster - What Happened?

[Aozora]

I bought a rooster for my flock, mainly as a guardian for my hens as they free range since we live in an area with a lot of predators. He's a 2-year-old Barred Rock roo named Rocky. His previous owner said he was getting picked on by the other roosters, but that he was friendly to humans and "noisy and randy."

Rocky had a rough 3-hour drive to my house in the back of a pickup. He was put up in a shady portable coop where he could see into the main coop but not interact with anyone. He's been here 3 days, and he's fairly intimidated by me, which is what I want from my rooster. He will hackle a bit at me, but runs and hides if I move toward him.

Today I was bringing my hens back to the coop and I brought them to his coop. I fed them treats and had the girls squat for me, in plain sight of Rocky, just so he knows again who is boss. Then I went to offer him a treat. Big mistake. My boss hen, Henrietta, went for the treat and hopped right into the coop with Rocky. He charged her three times and flogged her. I had to step in and shoo her out because she panicked and could not figure out how to escape. He backed up immediately as soon as I stepped in, and I chased him around the coop a few times for good measure before I left him alone. He started growling after I left and kept growling for a good 5 minutes.

It took me a long time to calm Henrietta down and get her to join the other girls in the coop. I picked her up and checked her, but she doesn't seem to be injured.

What happened there? Was that a territorial attack from a stressed-out rooster? Should I still try to integrate him, and if so how?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I bought a rooster for my flock, mainly as a guardian for my hens as they free range since we live in an area with a lot of predators. He's a 2-year-old Barred Rock roo named Rocky. His previous owner said he was getting picked on by the other roosters, but that he was friendly to humans and "noisy and randy."

Rocky had a rough 3-hour drive to my house in the back of a pickup. He was put up in a shady portable coop where he could see into the main coop but not interact with anyone. He's been here 3 days, and he's fairly intimidated by me, which is what I want from my rooster. He will hackle a bit at me, but runs and hides if I move toward him.

Today I was bringing my hens back to the coop and I brought them to his coop. I fed them treats and had the girls squat for me, in plain sight of Rocky, just so he knows again who is boss. Then I went to offer him a treat. Big mistake. My boss hen, Henrietta, went for the treat and hopped right into the coop with Rocky. He charged her three times and flogged her. I had to step in and shoo her out because she panicked and could not figure out how to escape. He backed up immediately as soon as I stepped in, and I chased him around the coop a few times for good measure before I left him alone. He started growling after I left and kept growling for a good 5 minutes.

It took me a long time to calm Henrietta down and get her to join the other girls in the coop. I picked her up and checked her, but she doesn't seem to be injured.

What happened there? Was that a territorial attack from a stressed-out rooster? Should I still try to integrate him, and if so how?

I suggest you contact @centrarchid and ask him to work with you on better understanding how to work with a rooster. Your current approach is setting everyone up for a very unhappy outcome.