After loosing the majority of my flock to predators (11 out of 13) last fall, I was left with one roo (Schizo) and one hen (Baby Girl) both Dominiques. As of now he is about 18 months old and she is about 16 months. After she recovered from her injuries (he wasn't hurt at all), they have been good together until this spring when his mating became very rough on her. They are let out to free range most of the day. She was looking bad and seemed to be losing weight. I'm guessing the weight loss was because she would go sit in a nesting box all day, even on the days she did not lay (to stay away from him??) I decided to get 3 hens (thinking he'd spread the 'love' around), they are EE's about 18 months old. They've been together about 10 days now. Baby Girl seems to absolutely HATE the 3 new hens, pecking, squawking, and generally terrorizing them. Schizo seems to think it's his job to help her pick on the new hens. I haven't done anything to interfere in the pecking as so far no signs of real injury or blood. The EE's are very docile and tended to stay up on the roosts when everyone was in the coop/run. I continued to let Baby Girl and Schizo out during the day, (gave the new girls time to relax/eat/lay) but kept the EE's in the enclosure for about a week and have been letting them out briefly for the past few days. Their first night out, they tried to roost on top of the coop/run instead of going inside in the evening, but it was easy to just pick them up and put them back in. The second night they went in to the roost first. In the past couple of days Schizo has finally begun to mount the new hens occasionally.
The problem is Baby Girl is looking WORSE than before getting the new hens. I know the new hens are not pecking/picking at her, they still stay up on the roosts and avoid the original 2 like the plague when they're all outside. Baby Girl is back to staying in a nesting box all day (old nesting boxes outside and accessible to them when out of the coop/run). Last evening I had to shoo her out to get her to go back to the coop/run at night. As soon as she came off the nest, Schizo headed toward her, she ran off a few steps and then 'assumed the position'. I was fairly close and watched him approach her, step onto her back where the feathers are missing and there are several red/raw looking spots but no blood. He never actually tried to mate her, just little footsteps on her back and then stepped off and walked around her in a circle while she remained in place. I'm heading to the thread with the BYC member selling saddles to buy one for her as soon as I finish this post (novel?!) but I'm looking for feedback on the behavior of this rooster. Is this behavior within normal limits?? I've never seen such. He just seems mean to the hens. He is not aggressive toward humans at all, he's well aware both hubby and I are the alpha roos and behaves accordingly. He did get his name because even as a young bird (got him at 2 months old) he always seemed to act weird. He eats, drinks, crows normally, but his flock behavior (he was at the bottom in the original flock) was always 'off', somewhat of a loner then, but also saw a 'mean streak' in him then towards the hens. There was another roo at the time who was the alpha (a mixed cochin bantam) who would keep him in line. He's never seemed protective, never seems to 'lead' the hen to food and literally runs/flies away if there's any sign of danger. I just don't understand why he would literally walk all over her and then around her without even trying to mate; it just looked like mean-ness! I've also seen him grabbing the new hens by the neck and slinging them around in a circle without trying to mount/mate. Baby Girl obviously loves him to pieces, every night she pushes up next to him until he puts his wing over her and they stay like that until morning. They continue to sleep like that even with the addition of the new hens. Hopefully getting a saddle will help Baby Girl. I am in the process of raising up 9 chicks that are one week old in the house in a brooder and by the end of summer the plan is to have one integrated mixed flock (babies are 3 Welsummer, 3 BCM, 2 Partridge Cochin and one Dominique). I'm just not sure this roo is ever going to integrate into a flock. I'm beginning to think he really is a Schizophrenic Rooster! Opinions and advice welcome, thanks!
The problem is Baby Girl is looking WORSE than before getting the new hens. I know the new hens are not pecking/picking at her, they still stay up on the roosts and avoid the original 2 like the plague when they're all outside. Baby Girl is back to staying in a nesting box all day (old nesting boxes outside and accessible to them when out of the coop/run). Last evening I had to shoo her out to get her to go back to the coop/run at night. As soon as she came off the nest, Schizo headed toward her, she ran off a few steps and then 'assumed the position'. I was fairly close and watched him approach her, step onto her back where the feathers are missing and there are several red/raw looking spots but no blood. He never actually tried to mate her, just little footsteps on her back and then stepped off and walked around her in a circle while she remained in place. I'm heading to the thread with the BYC member selling saddles to buy one for her as soon as I finish this post (novel?!) but I'm looking for feedback on the behavior of this rooster. Is this behavior within normal limits?? I've never seen such. He just seems mean to the hens. He is not aggressive toward humans at all, he's well aware both hubby and I are the alpha roos and behaves accordingly. He did get his name because even as a young bird (got him at 2 months old) he always seemed to act weird. He eats, drinks, crows normally, but his flock behavior (he was at the bottom in the original flock) was always 'off', somewhat of a loner then, but also saw a 'mean streak' in him then towards the hens. There was another roo at the time who was the alpha (a mixed cochin bantam) who would keep him in line. He's never seemed protective, never seems to 'lead' the hen to food and literally runs/flies away if there's any sign of danger. I just don't understand why he would literally walk all over her and then around her without even trying to mate; it just looked like mean-ness! I've also seen him grabbing the new hens by the neck and slinging them around in a circle without trying to mount/mate. Baby Girl obviously loves him to pieces, every night she pushes up next to him until he puts his wing over her and they stay like that until morning. They continue to sleep like that even with the addition of the new hens. Hopefully getting a saddle will help Baby Girl. I am in the process of raising up 9 chicks that are one week old in the house in a brooder and by the end of summer the plan is to have one integrated mixed flock (babies are 3 Welsummer, 3 BCM, 2 Partridge Cochin and one Dominique). I'm just not sure this roo is ever going to integrate into a flock. I'm beginning to think he really is a Schizophrenic Rooster! Opinions and advice welcome, thanks!
