Rooster bullying hen.

[JackE]

Just recently I have noticed my 6mo old BO rooster bullying one of the hens. This is a new behavior in the last week or so. The hen is another BO. She is the last survivor from my first flock (Daylight fox attack killied all but her and another rooster I had at the time). She is 1 1/2 yrs old. The BO rooster is VERY rough with her when compaired with how he is with the rest of the hens. When treats are brought out for the chickens, he chases her away and won't let her eat. He has beaten/torn up the back of her head. Any ideas on what the problem could be? Other than bullying this hen, he's a good rooster. He doesn't show any aggression to people at all. Do you think this is some kind of a short term dominance thing? I'd hate to have to send him to freezer camp. But I don't think I'm going to put up with this much longer.
Jack

 

[sourland]

It's probably a dominance thing. She may hav challenged him. That being said, I would not tolerate such behavior. I would suggest seperating him from the hens for a week and close monitoring upon reintroduction. If his behavior continues either he or the hen should be rehomed/culled. He has the potential to seriously injure her.

 

[JackE]

When I first intoduced the new flock to the older hen, She did kind of run the coop. The new birds would get out of her way, even the young rooster. But that all passed and everybody seemed to get along great. I think you could be right, something happened that PO'ed the rooster. I'll have to get him out of there for a bit. Thanks for the quick answer.
Jack