rooster not protecting the hens?

[farmert]

My rooster and three hens have been together since babyhood. When they free range, which is typically just around the farm house area, they are a very tight knit group. Each hen was never more than a foot or two away from the other. Yesterday, our lovely Lily disappeared during the day.

We have predators of all sorts, but I'm trying to figure out if it was a fox or coyote, for example, why did the rooster not attempt to defend her? He and the other two hens were fine and not even showing any fear. Usually, when something attacks them, there is a pale in the air of danger that lasts a while.

My thought is perhaps a chicken hawk who swoops with little warning other than the crows' sqwaking -- but I will say that the chickens, especially the rooster, tend to pay attention to the crows' warning.

I'm curious to know why the roo is none the worse for wear. I'm also curious why a predator wouldn't take him first simply because he is a bigger bird. Obviously, I'm just curious and will never know.

Thanks for reading.

 

[Debbie292d]

So sorry for your loss of Lily.

There are many possibilities of what got her. Perhaps a weasel, fox, or like you suggested, maybe a hawk, that snuck up and snatched her unseen by the rest.

I've had two chickens, both deceased now, that took about two years to get over a fox attack at their previous home. I adopted the three survivors. One was fine; those two were always scared and shy, sticking around the coop when the rest of the flock was out free-ranging. Why was one just normal and those two took two years to become normal; who knows?

Your other ones may or may not have seen it.

 

[azygous]

Roosters aren't spit out of a mold. They all aren't fighting machines. In fact, most usually do little more than stand around looking awesome pretending to be on the alert for danger.

While it is true that a flock witnessing a predator attack behave with noticeable unease, if they don't witness it, they will not miss the victim and just carry on as if nothing had happened.

Have you searched for this hen? More times than not, when I've had a chicken go missing from a predator attack, I have found them later hiding in places I never would have thought they'd be.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Are there any signs of a predator attack? Is there a chance she had a secret nest and is secretly broody? Often after a predator attack, the surviving birds will show signs of trauma from witnessing it.

On a side note, not all roosters will defend their hens in the case of a predator attack. Some might stick with the hens as moral support as they attempt to recover from the same horror that their hens had witnessed, or, they might just run and hide, abandoning the hens altogether as I had a rooster do to my flock. It really depends on the rooster, and sometimes it depends on the breed as well.

I highly recommend searching for the hen just in case she had gone broody or had an unexpected death. In the meantime, lock up your remaining birds as a predator will return once it gets a taste.

 

[Tstraub]

Did you actually find evidence that she was taken by a predator? It’s not uncommon for a hen to go missing suddenly then return 3 weeks later with chicks in tow.

 

[farmert]

So sorry for your loss of Lily.

There are many possibilities of what got her. Perhaps a weasel, fox, or like you suggested, maybe a hawk, that snuck up and snatched her unseen by the rest.

I've had two chickens, both deceased now, that took about two years to get over a fox attack at their previous home. I adopted the three survivors. One was fine; those two were always scared and shy, sticking around the coop when the rest of the flock was out free-ranging. Why was one just normal and those two took two years to become normal; who knows?

Your other ones may or may not have seen it.

Thank you and sorry for your loss, too. Wow! two years?

 

[Debbie292d]

Thank you and sorry for your loss, too. Wow! two years?

That was really weird, but yes. They just stuck around the coop for two years while their sister went with everyone else every single day. Beats me!

 

[farmert]

Roosters aren't spit out of a mold. They all aren't fighting machines. In fact, most usually do little more than stand around looking awesome pretending to be on the alert for danger.

While it is true that a flock witnessing a predator attack behave with noticeable unease, if they don't witness it, they will not miss the victim and just carry on as if nothing had happened.

Have you searched for this hen? More times than not, when I've had a chicken go missing from a predator attack, I have found them later hiding in places I never would have thought they'd be.

Did a wide search for her, knowing their haunts and favorite places to scratch. The rooster typically gives warning sounds whenever there is something irregular so that's one reason I'm perplexed. But, he does stand around and look awesome most of the time, but very near his girls.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Could always replace him. Mine do their jobs, even saved one of my hens from a hawk a couple months back. She only was left with injuries to her leg, & thigh from the talons.

 

[farmert]

Are there any signs of a predator attack? Is there a chance she had a secret nest and is secretly broody? Often after a predator attack, the surviving birds will show signs of trauma from witnessing it.

On a side note, not all roosters will defend their hens in the case of a predator attack. Some might stick with the hens as moral support as they attempt to recover from the same horror that their hens had witnessed, or, they might just run and hide, abandoning the hens altogether as I had a rooster do to my flock. It really depends on the rooster, and sometimes it depends on the breed as well.

I highly recommend searching for the hen just in case she had gone broody or had an unexpected death. In the meantime, lock up your remaining birds as a predator will return once it gets a taste.

''Often after a predator attack, the surviving birds will show signs of trauma from witnessing it.'' We've had poultry for almost thirty years so not knew to this trauma. But in the past, the birds do show signs of fear and I describe it as a ''pale of danger'' they sense -- for a few days. They are all acting like nothing happend.

I did a wide search yesterday and will do it again. They were too closely knit for her to strike out on her own. I guess for the rooster it comes down to self-preservation! Thanks for the reply.