Rooster Question

[PolarBear]

I have a rooster that does his job very well...for the most part. He protects his girls, he points out food for them to eat, and he is very gentle with all of them, except one. For some reason he will seem to go out oh his way to peck at her. If she gets too close to him he will not just chase her away, but chase her until he can peck her. She has a large bald spot on her back and small patches on her wings. She is the only one he is rough with, though. Does anyone know why?

 

[Ridgerunner]

When you say pecking at here, do you mean mating with her? The damage sounds like overmating to me. Sometimes a rooster will pick a specific hen as his favorite and overmate with her, even if he has plenty of other choices. If this is the problem, a chicken saddle or spur trimming may be in order.

Sometimes a weak chicken will be culled by the flock, whether weak physically, injured, diseased, or weak in spirit. The damage and the behavior does not sound like that. As often as not, it is the hens that do the culling.

Good luck!

 

[PolarBear]

I have never seen him mate with her. This morning one of her wings was actually bloody. It is getting serious.

 

[Ridgerunner]

If she is bleeding, it is serious. I suggest treating her and isolating her from the flock until she has healed. The other chickens could start pecking at the bloody area and kill her. If you can, keep her where she can see the other chickens and they can see her so you don't have integration problems when she is healed and you want to put her back with the flock.

If it is the rooster doing this, I think you have a decision to make as to which you want to keep or you need to permanently isolate one of them from the flock.