Not feeling the rooster love.

[oherin]

My rooster bullied one of my younger hens to death today. He is 5m old; she was 3m old. I have 6 other hens the same age and am now worried that he will do the same thing to them. They were locked in their coop / smaller run for most of the day today...unintentionally. My husband forgot to let them out. I have a section of it partitioned off so only the younger girls can squeeze in. However, I think the rooster was able to corner her. There is also the possibility that he tried to mount her too aggressively... When they are out in their larger runs, they steer clear of him. He does not deliberately hassle them either. I have older hens that seem to get along fine with these chicks. Advice anyone?

 

[JHillgrove]

How do you know it was the rooster the bullied her to death?

 

[oherin]

Good question. I just assumed. He was pecking at her body when I found her. He is also the only one that gets aggressive if they get in his way.

 

[JHillgrove]

What was wrong with her, like was she all bloody? I know that chickens will pick on anyone who is bloody.

 

[donrae]

Has he been aggressive before? I've had birds die of natural causes or trauma and the rest of the flock happily cannibalize the body. If you seriously think he killed the pullet, cull him. If you're not sure, just keep an eye on them.

 

[oherin]

I have been watching them closely over the weekend. The more I observe the rooster's behavior and talk over the situation with people, the more I believe that a predator managed to get into the coop. There were lots of feathers inside the coop and her head and neck were missing. We never could find them and don't think the other chickens ate them...could they?

 

[JMarch]

sounds like a predator

 

[Farm_Maven]

sounds like a coon got her.