Rooster/hen cat fight

[Nancy H]

I have one rooster and seven hens. They were hatched and raised in the same multi rooster group and have been with me for six months as a group. It's been a lovefest until 3 days ago. I LOVE the rooster, who is RIR/Americauna and has always been very gentle and terrific at watching for hawks (a problem here in rural San Diego County). He's about a year and a half old. He has taken a sudden aversion to one hen, the only RIR in the group. For the last three days he leaps at her and on her and pecks her, to the point where she is now hanging out on the woodpile and wouldn't even go in the coop last night. She's normally one of the more outgoing hens. They're in a big fenced area, 50 by 150 feet. Should I isolate him? Isolate her in her own fenced area? Get a squirt gun like you do with a dog?

Thank you in advance for any help.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

If the hen is the same age as the rooster, rehome the hen, she seems to be the main problem. The problem that you have is that you can not ask any of your chickens if there is a problem with your only Rhode Island Red hen or a problem with your crossbreed rooster.

Chickens have a phenomenal sense of sight and they see more wavelengths of light than you or I see. Chickens it is thought see disease or weakness in the shine or the lack of shine of the feathers and down beyond what is visible to the human eye. Maybe he is trying to tell you something that you should know or perhaps he is just being a jerk.

 

[Nancy H]

Thank you very much. I was thinking of rehoming the chicken (lotsa backyard chicken keepers here) but I'll spend some time with them first and observe her. Maybe he IS trying to tell me something.

 

[Nancy H]

Update: I found someone to take the hen but first I took a really close look at her. Saw small black specks on her comb that I hadn't noticed before. A little research and voila -- she has a mild case of fowl pox. So BigBad the Rooster was right!
The hen is now convalescing in the hospital yard and I'll see about reintroducing her when she's fully recovered. None of the others seems to have it -- yet.
So thank you very much for the advice.

 

[drumstick diva]

sounds like one smart rooster

 

[jak2002003]

Are you sure the bullied hen is actually a hen and not another rooster? If they are young its hard to tell at first.

 

[aart]

Saw small black specks on her comb that I hadn't noticed before. A little research and voila -- she has a mild case of fowl pox.

Have had numerous incidences of dry pox, never had a bird abused because of it.
How old are these birds?

 

[Nancy H]

This hen is a year and a half, as is one other in the group. The other four hens and the rooster are a year old. All raised together. No problems before. Rooster is unusually gentle as a rule.
When I cleaned out the coop after diagnosing Aries with fowl pox, the rooster got into it and watched, all but telling me I missed a spot (to my anthropomorphizing mind)

 

[aart]

Wonder if she's molting and he's confused by her refusals to mate?
Just a hunch..hard to say.
I know I had great cockbird take after a hen just before she had a heavily molt,
was weird, luckily she could get away and started hanging with the younger group,
eventually he left her alone.

 

[jak2002003]

The black spots are might be dry blood.. from where the rooster pecked her comb. If she had dry pox I would suspect all the other chickens would have it also as its contagious.

Also I have never know a bird to get attacked by another one because it had dry pox.