Newbie needs rooster advice...

[Debrakinsky]

If he is great with the other hens, cull or re-home the one he is abusing. It doesn't sound like her flock life is pleasant. She may need to be in a very chill flock or her health is poor such that you need to cull her.

Chickens are very unforgiving of any infirmity in the flock. He may turn his affections to another, but if he is over rough again, cull him. I do not believe a rooster has to be rough with any in his flock or so lousy at mounting that he strips their feathers and injures them. I have some vent wear patterns on favorites but do not keep roosters who do more.

By the way, post a photo of her eye. Ocular Marek's also causes blindness. It usually appears as growth in the iris and a fish eye look. You don't want that to be the reason she is being hazed.

Here is a photo of the hen...

 

[aart]

Also to take into consideration: Depending on the breed chickens do have different feather qualities, some breeds i.e. Marans (BCM) have very soft feathers and the hens easily look more ruffled than Kraienköppe which have a harder feather.

Exactly...some hens/pullets have weak/brittle feathers that break easily.

 

[Ruthster55]

Here is a photo of the hen... View attachment 2186626View attachment 2186626

Poor hen! Looks decidedly unhealthy.

Am sad to say that she should probably be culled.

 

[Mrs. K]

Always solve for the peace of the flock. One of the birds needs to leave your flock. But you need to try it first, because you are new and might not see it right.

If you pull the rooster, either the flock will relax and be peaceful, or a more dominant hen will rise up and continue picking on the victim. If that happens, then the victim needs to go.

Or pull the victim, if the tension in the flock drops, good. Or the rooster might pick a new victim. If so, he needs to go.

But do remove one.

Just to be sure you have enough space, what are your measurements, what is your head count? Because an over crowded coup causes these problems.

good animal husbandry requires people to adjust the flock.

Mrs. K

 

[Mrs. K]

Ps. I vote pull the hen first after seeing that picture.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I agree with others. That hen looks unhealthy. That isn't normal tread pattern or normal molt loss. She likely has stuff going on.

Her eye looks more swollen to me, with third eyelid affected, rather than blind. She can barely see due to the swelling.

Her body doesn't appear to be regenerating feathers well. (I can't tell if she has depluming mites from the photo, but a possibility). But the eye swelling is a conern. That can indicate liver problems or viral problems.

I'd cull that hen.

LofMc

 

[LaFleche]

Here is what I would do:

Disregarding the eye and the ragged plumage (definitely the roosters doing), the hen looks quite healthy to me: bright red wattles and comb. Also roosters mostly prefer to mate with the more prolific hens.
So I would give her a rest with her flockmates and just separate the rooster with two of the least worn-out looking hens.

He might even discover that these two are also worth of his attention

 

[Debrakinsky]

Poor hen! Looks decidedly unhealthy.

Am sad to say that she should probably be culled.

That’s what I was afraid of. She is trying so hard to live—she’s a tough one. I have witnessed the rooster attacking her pretty seriously. I have not seen him attack the others (although I do have one with a bare back). I pretty much know who’s at the bottom of the pecking order, and he leaves everyone else alone. Guess I just was a bit shocked to see him mounting her recently. That didn’t make sense to me.

 

[Debrakinsky]

Always solve for the peace of the flock. One of the birds needs to leave your flock. But you need to try it first, because you are new and might not see it right.

If you pull the rooster, either the flock will relax and be peaceful, or a more dominant hen will rise up and continue picking on the victim. If that happens, then the victim needs to go.

Or pull the victim, if the tension in the flock drops, good. Or the rooster might pick a new victim. If so, he needs to go.

But do remove one.

Just to be sure you have enough space, what are your measurements, what is your head count? Because an over crowded coup causes these problems.

good animal husbandry requires people to adjust the flock.

Mrs. K

Thank you! That makes sense to try first. I’ve also ordered some chicken saddles in the meantime (I tried the “anti rooster picking” stuff, but it did nothing. I have a flock of 14 total (3 new starter pullets). I have a very large coop and mostly-covered run with a lot of room. Not sure of the dimensions, but the coop is the size of a small workshop and has a large, multi-tiered roost and 6 nest boxes. I think we’ll try isolating him first and see what happens. Here’s a photo of the coop and run

 

[Mrs. K]

One of the things I see from this angle is that your run seems to be empty. A bird can see all of the other birds from any place in the run. Adding a lot of clutter to the run can really help. Add some hideouts, where a bird can duck behind and disappear. Add some roosts, some pallets up on blocks that birds can get under or on top of, add an old chair, or a box on its side. You then can have a feed station tucked out of sight of the main feed station. I try and have a place for every four birds to eat, out of sight of the other places, so that all can get enough.

It might just be the angle of the camera, but the more clutter, makes better use of the 3rd dimension, height. An empty run is basically 2 dimensional. It gives them more exercise, and it gives them a chance to take a break from each other.

A beautiful coop and run set up!

Mrs K