Roo Beating the Crap out of 2 Hens. What to do?

[Remo]

I just added (2)1 year old hens to my small flock of 2 EE's, 2 RIR's and a Black Roo. My Roo is beating the crap out of the 2 new hens every time they get down, they are trying to hide in nest boxes and in corners. They are even sleeping in the next box( I go out and move them to the roost every nite). He tries to pull them out of the boxes, he jumps on them and pecks their head and pulls their feathers. He's not trying to mount them, I think he just don't like them. This has been going on for 4 days and nites. I moved him to a separate pen earlier today and when I went out to check on them the 2 new hens were on the roost with the other 4 hens. Do I let him back in with them in a few days? He has always been a gentleman with the other hens, but he is bullying these 2 non stop. Please help me out! My coop and run is a 20' x 20' open air coop and run(3 sides boxed in) so space is not an issue. The roo and hens can see each other but are separated by a wire fence, thanks for any help you can give.

 

[Kev]

Are the new hens laying or a very different color from the other hens such as all white/black? Some roosters are mean to non-laying hens/pullets, until they willingly breed with him.. then he's all nice to them.

Some birds react strongly to a new chicken if it's a very different color.. for example a long established flock of all blacks that never saw any other color may have some individuals either terrified of or extremely aggressive to a new, all white bird. It's something they 'never saw before'. (when I let silkies free range for the first time, many of my chickens were terrified of them because they never saw them before- they were kept in a pen with solid 3' wall around their pen. Bunch of loud squawking and running away.. some became very aggressive and wanted to beat up these weird things)

If your original group has been that way for a very long time and/or the roo never saw another chicken or rooster before, it could be he's "confused" the instinct to protect his flock against intruding roosters directed against the two new hens. Normally, roosters are very excited at meeting new hens, especially if they are in laying condition(red faces/combs) and either court them like mad or simply chase them down and force them down for mounting.

I have not dealt with that situation.. my thoughts: if possible, I'd keep the rooster separate for a good while, at least one week or two weeks for 2 reasons, to let the new hens to become completely settled down with minimal stress. Second, hopefully the rooster will have forgotten his aggression against those two and the right instinct will come out at a later introduction. If you let your birds free range sometimes, I would let the hens out a couple times with roo locked up.. so the new hens can get the routine down too. then one day with the hens free ranging, just open the door for the roo and let him walk out, hope it will be considered more neutral territory outside, so the roo will get the sense to court all hens.

 

[WriterofWords]

Send him to anger management therapy?

 

[Remo]

Quote:
I don't know if the new ones are laying or not, but they are Dominikers(bad spelling)(black and white in color), so they are very different in color. the original flock has been together for about 7 months. I believe I will take your advice and keep the roo locked up for a week or two. The other hens have not totally excepted them, but they are trying to figure out the pecking order with only a few squabbles here and there.

 

[chellejeff]

Well, it's been a year. How'd it work out?

OOPS, my bad!! I was looking at your registration date instead of the thread date. Not quite a year yet.

 

[sourland]

Keep him away from the hens for a week then reintroduce him to the flock. If his bad behavior continues, I would get rid of him.

 

[Remo]

Quote:
Thanks, I kept him in a separate pen for a few days. Then I took him off his roost and put him back in with the hens at night.( I actually put him right beside one of the hens he had been beating up on). He has settled down and even though the two new ones seem to be on the bottom of the pecking order they have been excepted by the Roo and hens. I guess he woke up beside them and decided they were OK! Thanks for the advice.

 

[sourland]

Glad it worked.