rooster mean and aggressive to one hen

[BarredRockMom]

Just watched some culling videos. I think I'll build him a separate pen tomorrow, after all. Once my husband gets home we'll take care of him together. But he still gets to stay outside tonight.

 

[centrarchid]

Sadly, I am having this problem, too. My oldest girl is so stressed because of the dominant rooster torturing her that she no longer lays eggs, which is awful. I hate for her to be so miserable, and I have spoken to him about consequences of his actions and how he's failing at his job of protecting the flock. (Crazy, yes...I know, but I was hoping that he'd understand an check himself.) I thought he'd gotten better, but I just witnessed him go after her before lights out. Apparently jumping on the perch is a crime in his mind. Last night he went after my little White Leghorn juvenile Roo, just because he was hungry and wanted to eat. Last night's aggression got him kicked him outside into the (enclosed) chicken yard. I intended to let him stay out all night even though I felt sorry for how freaked out and unsettled he was. I would've stuck to my guns but for a horrible storm, so he got to go back inside. His antics tonight got him kicked outside for the night. I'm inside trying to figure out how to cull him in the dark, if that's any indication of how I'm feeling toward him. I don't have a greenhouse and I'm not feeling particularly inclined to build him a separate enclosure. If he's not doing his job, I don't feel any need to keep him around.

After reading the thread here, I'm thinking that culling him is my best option. I realize that chickens, like people, have their own personalities and preferences, but how he could be so mean to her is beyond me. Her back has a bald spot and so does her bum. He is just not nice to her and he doesn't deserve this great flock. I was hoping to keep him and maintain a balance with the other boy, but it seems like too high a price if my girl has to pay the toll. Off with his head.

I read in thread in full. Take of majority does not reflect what i know. If you a have a rooster that targets a single hen the problem is more likely than not the hen. I come from this from the rooster end of the spectrum where roosters represent roughly half the adults which enables seeing rooster related patterns in interactions. In most instances, a hen attacked by one rooster as you describe will be attacked by adult roosters in a similar manner.

Isolate hen being attacked and scrutinize her closely for health issues. Keep her in her own pen for a couple of days. If weight is good, then look closely at her eyes for irregularities in shape of iris. Also listen for changes in voice relative to other hens. Difference will appear subtle to the human observer but are very obvious to other chickens. Hens with such problems will typically have a very low rank and spend more time away from balance of flock or even change roosting sites frequently without apparent reason. What you are observing is generally not age related with adult hens.

 

[BarredRockMom]

Hmm, that's interesting that you suggested it could be the hen and a possible health related issue for her. I have him confined behind fencing in the coop and will watch her more carefully over the next few days. Hopefully, she will become less stressed and turn around with her egg production. I'd hate for him to go and then to have something happen to her right afterwards, but ultimately it comes down to the fact that she was here first and I love her dearly. He may just be reacting to a physiological problem within her that only he sees, and I may be giving him credit for being mean when it only looks that way to me. But his approach needs to soften. I cannot have her so stressed and beside herself that her quality of life is diminished. It's not even a question of egg production. It's a question of her comfort level. With him confined, I think she's feeling safer, which will allow me the chance to observe her more closely. Regardless, I'm glad I didn't cull him last night. Thanks for your observations. If you have any other thoughts on the matter, I'd be glad to hear them.

 

[cafarmgirl]

I'll tell you my experience for one more viewpoint. I had a rooster who lived peaceably with his flock and was a good rooster for 5 years. When I raised up a new flock of 8 young ladies two years ago he took them right in and helped me with flock integration and treated them all very well. Fast forward to about 6 months ago, same rooster started getting rough occasionally, seemed to chase down hens a lot more and as well seemed especially focused on one young hen who became terrified of him. She became very stressed all the time and hid from him a lot. Finally after observing him chasing her down yet again one day I pulled him out and have kept him in a separate pen. She improved vastly, became happy and more confident as well as a regular layer and remains so. As it turns out HE was the one who had health issues that may have caused a change in his behavior. His health started to diminish recently and last week when he started showing signs of respiratory illness I took him to a state lab so they could take fresh blood samples, euthanize him and then do a necropsy. The official results are not back but preliminary findings showed abnormalities in heart, liver and lungs, we are just waiting for the lab to give us the official results of everything. So yes, sometimes a rooster may go after a hen that is unwell, but a roosters behavior can also be affected if he himself is unwell.

 

[centrarchid]

The very same problems a rooster detects are likely to remove the hen even without the roosters intervention. Such problems do not respond well to the hands off approach. Isolate and inspect her closely. Sometimes ignoring what appears to be a small issue results in a hen being found below roost in morning dead of apparent heart attack. Chickens, especially adults are very good at hiding the fact they are sick.


I can have an established social group of several hens and a rooster where additional hens can be added without the rooster causing undue stress on new additions. This even holds when a single hen and rooster are introduced to be a breeding pair. This assumes all parties are mature and hens in good health.

Consider confining rooster in a pen within the hen area. In some situations it may even be practical to restrain rooster with a tie-cord which enables hens to control proximity to rooster. DO not attempt tie-cord option with conferring with someone familiar with the practice.

 

[centrarchid]

I'll tell you my experience for one more viewpoint.  I had a rooster who lived peaceably with his flock and was a good rooster for 5 years.  When I raised up a new flock of 8 young ladies two years ago he took them right in and helped me with flock integration and treated them all very well.  Fast forward to about 6 months ago, same rooster started getting rough occasionally, seemed to chase down hens a lot more and as well seemed especially focused on one young hen who became terrified of him.  She became very stressed all the time and hid from him a lot.  Finally after observing him chasing her down yet again one day I pulled him out and have kept him in a separate pen.  She improved vastly, became happy and more confident as well as a regular layer and remains so.  As it turns out HE was the one who had health issues that may have caused a change in his behavior.  His health started to diminish recently and last week when he started showing signs of respiratory illness I took him to a state lab so they could take fresh blood samples, euthanize him and then do a necropsy.  The official results are not back but preliminary findings showed abnormalities in heart, liver and lungs, we are just waiting for the lab to give us the official results of everything.  So yes, sometimes a rooster may go after a hen that is unwell, but a roosters behavior can also be affected if he himself is unwell.

This is not outside the realm of possibilities as I have seen. Such roosters engage in inappropriate behaviors against other birds in general even though a particular individual may resolve bulk of aggression. Rooster that operates with good deep voice, crows a lot, has bright red wattles, and walks about in a stately manner with lots of genuine tid-bitting is likely to be in good health. One that turn selfish around food items or sleepy is one to watch.

 

[BarredRockMom]

Thank you for your input and experience, everyone. Though we've had chickens for about 4 years, this has been our first experience with roosters. The rooster in confinement came to us as an accident, as did his 5 rooster siblings. The gal we got them from had been told they were all females when she got them from the (dishonest, disreputable) hatchery. We kept him because he seemed to be very good with the girls. The others we sent to freezer camp. He has never been particularly cuddly with us, but as long as he was taking care of the ladies, we didn't mind. And he's never been aggressive toward us. We ended up getting 4 pullets from the same gal, who were the same age as the campers, so we didn't loose any egg production time. He seems to really favor these 4 new girls, and they him, though he was always fine with my older 2 hens (aged 4 & 2.)

His posture, plumage, height, weight, carriage, crowing and comb/wattle coloration are all right out of a textbook for what a Barred Rock rooster should be. His attention to his flock and their fondness for him seem evident with the one stated exception.

I've been watching over the girls and they seem calmer, though they don't understand why he's calling them to come and get tasty morsels from behind a fence that they clearly cannot pass through.

My sweet, cuddly White Leghorn has noticed a vacancy for leader and was trying to fight me earlier today. Guess he didn't think they should free range unless HE said so. When he wouldn't chill out or let me pass, he got a swat, came to his senses and we continued on about our grazing. Yeesh! Freezer camp sale, two for one...?

Anyway, the girls are due for a worming, so that's started today. The jailbird isn't getting the treatment because we don't know if he'll get better with the hen or not. We don't know yet if we want to even try, since the best predictor of future behavior is indeed past behavior. If we decide to send him off, I'll be darned if he isn't made into soup and ya can't consume an animal on fenbendazole for at least 14 days. Seems like a long time to have to put up with bad behavior and special accommodations.

Going out to pull my oldest girl aside for another inspection and some TLC. She won't mind (& may even enjoy) being away from the group if there are crickets involved, I'm sure!

 

[JackE]

I had a rooster, that snuck in with a batch of chicks I got. Everything was fine until he got about 7 mos old. Then, he seemingly developed an extreme dislike for one of my older, (Under 2 yrs old at the time)hens. He would drive her away from the others, and food. He would attack her, and leave her bloody. To me, it was for nothing, she would submit to him, and he still would attack her. Now, I did not let this go on for long. I separated him for a week, and let everything calm down. When he was re-introduced to the flock, it wasn't 10 mins, and he was after her again. And that was it, for him.
That same hen is now 4 yrs old, there was nothing wrong with her then, or now. That rooster, for whatever reason, just took a strong dislike to her. She was not a bottom of the pecking order hen either. She isn't at the top, but she definitely isn't at the bottom. Seems like it was like some kind of personality clash, that didn't work out for the roo.

 

[tlb625]

I have a baby rooster that is for months old and is a nice little man.he snuck in from a hatchery and was the only one that stayed alive on shipment so his name is survivor. He lives his ladies and lives me allot. I picked him up the other day and my oldest hen thought he was attacking me so she peeked him in the head.lol I was like no Goldie it's ok but she did it softly, she's very protective over me. My rooster is trained and he loves me and liked snuggles of he pulls a stunt and attacks me he's getting a lesson learned.

 

[centrarchid]

I had a rooster, that snuck in with a batch of chicks I got.  Everything was fine until he got about 7 mos old.  Then, he seemingly developed an extreme dislike for one of my older, (Under 2 yrs old at the time)hens.  He would drive her away from the others, and food.  He would attack her, and leave her bloody.  To me, it was for nothing, she would submit to him, and he still would attack her.  Now, I did not let this go on for long.  I separated him for a week, and let everything calm down.  When he was re-introduced to the flock, it wasn't 10 mins, and he was after her again.  And that was it, for him.  
That same hen is now 4 yrs old, there was nothing wrong with her then, or now.  That rooster, for whatever reason, just took a strong dislike to her.  She was not a bottom of the pecking order hen either.  She isn't at the top, but she definitely isn't at the bottom.  Seems like it was like some kind of personality clash, that didn't work out for the roo.

Over time with observations on many such interactions, you will find what is related above to be the exception rather than the rule. Additionally, a not all health issues impacting social interactions result in mortality or even productivity. Not all.