Roo not being nice to new chicken

[Mrs. K]

Space is generally the culprit as in not enough. Space that was enough for chicks, rapidly becomes not enough space for full size birds. It is very common to start having issues around 5 months of age if all of the birds in the flock are 5 months old. The thing is, the promise of a new coop does not help right now. I recommend reducing the flock to fit what you have now, and adding to the flock when you are in the new coop. Free ranging or being raised together does not help. The number of birds needs to fit the coop.

Solve for peace in the flock. It sounds like you are really expanding this hobby. You will find, that in animal husbandry you have to make decisions, and not everyone gets to stay. Some people cull for the table, some give away, and some plant a rosebush, but the flock outweighs a single bird.

It is weird, but sometimes you can add birds, and a bit of bluster and they are a flock. Sometimes birds that you raise together, for whatever reason, will fall out. Sometimes a peaceful flock will pick a victim and it is ugly.

More space is crucial, but reduce the flock now until you get the coop. I would probably cull both the rooster and the victim, neither is adding to the flock. Roosters are easy to find and add to a flock. And it sound like you have an expansion in mind.

Mrs K

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Alpha to accept the new bird. If not, he'll unfortunately find his way to pasture.

By this do you mean you would just turn him out to fend for himself in the wild? Please don't do this. Don't let him fall victim to a coyote or other predator, it's cruelty. Far more humane to dispatch him and either toss his body out for the wild things if you don't want it, or process him for your table.

 

[Ruler of the Roost]

By this do you mean you would just turn him out to fend for himself in the wild? Please don't do this. Don't let him fall victim to a coyote or other predator, it's cruelty. Far more humane to dispatch him and either toss his body out for the wild things if you don't want it, or process him for your table.

No. The pasture means a 22 to the back of the head and buried in the pasture with the rest of the fallen chickens. Proper tombstone and all.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

No. The pasture means a 22 to the back of the head and buried in the pasture with the rest of the fallen chickens. Proper tombstone and all.

I see. Thank you for clarifying.

 

[SourRoses]

...I mean...what if the rooster was never the problem? I moved Whitey back into the coop and locked Alpha out...I've never seen her do it before but she was chasing one of the smaller hens off of her nest...one of Alphas offspring...and that's when Alpha came running. Of course he can't get to her now... but the picture is starting to make more sense.

Nah, it's pretty normal for new hens to quibble in a new environment. The rooster is big enough and assertive enough that he can step in and settle the matter without causing injuries.
When you see damage, it's a sign he wasn't in control of himself as he was trying to assert his dominance, and that's a behavior that shows up again & again.
I had one that was valuable to me for breeding that I was hoping was just having cockerel glitches, right... but one day in the space of a couple minutes he went from pursuing to breed a hen to cornering her and scalped then pecked down to the brain. An inch or so north of where your hen was pecked. I had to put her down, she was more valuable to the breeding program, so I learned my lesson there.
This is the sort of damaging behavior that nature wouldn't tolerate. Harming hens would cause them all to flee to another rooster in the wild. For that reason, I believe this sort of thing comes from human influence on the gene pool. And we should all work to fix those past mistakes by not continuing those genetics.

 

[Ruler of the Roost]

Well, I had them separated, but Alpha found his way into the coop where I had whitey. I chased him out and everyone is ok, but I have whitey back in the little cage to keep them separated. That said I acquired a 2-bird chicken tractor. It’s older and needs some repair, which I am performing this upcoming Monday afternoon. It will serve as a more acceptable ‘vehicle’ for separating the birds until I get the first coop completed.

 

[Ruler of the Roost]

Here is the tractor. The run portion needs a lot of work. Part of the frame is missing and part of the frame is rotted and part of the frame is still viable. Some of the chicken wire needs replaced as well. As far as the coop portion, it has viable nesting boxes and a good roosting bar. Just has one piece of rotten wood that needs replace and a new door made to be viable. After I get the new coop completed and the current coop repaired, I’ll completely refurbish the tractor before building the second new coop and rearing down the current one. Lots of moving parts but no one gets hurt.