Rooster rejecting one hen after 1 year of being together

[Rustybelle Farms]

Hey y'all!

I have a flock of about 20 hens and 1 rooster. They have been together for over a year but the last month or so I have noticed the rooster has been chasing off one of my Brahma hens. At first I thought he was just courting her but he chases her away from all food, attacks her often until she submits to him then he just pecks her on the head and runs off, doesn't even mate her. Last night he chased her around and pecked her on the head so hard she was bleeding and rather than submitting to him she came running full speed to me and hid between me and a tree. He has always been such a sweet rooster, technically a cockerel I suppose as he's just a year old. My hen is 3 years old and very sweet and passive to the others. She's not sick, not injured, I don't know why this started but he actually hurt her last night and she was genuinely scared. She's never come to me to protect her like this.

I separated the rooster and put him in his own pen after that but has this sort of thing happened to anyone else before? Is it hormones causing this behavior? I havent noticed it with any of the others, he only does it to her. He has always been the sweetest rooster to his girls and I but somethings changed between this particular hen and him.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Hey y'all!

I have a flock of about 20 hens and 1 rooster. They have been together for over a year but the last month or so I have noticed the rooster has been chasing off one of my Brahma hens. At first I thought he was just courting her but he chases her away from all food, attacks her often until she submits to him then he just pecks her on the head and runs off, doesn't even mate her. Last night he chased her around and pecked her on the head so hard she was bleeding and rather than submitting to him she came running full speed to me and hid between me and a tree. He has always been such a sweet rooster, technically a cockerel I suppose as he's just a year old. My hen is 3 years old and very sweet and passive to the others. She's not sick, not injured, I don't know why this started but he actually hurt her last night and she was genuinely scared. She's never come to me to protect her like this.

I separated the rooster and put him in his own pen after that but has this sort of thing happened to anyone else before? Is it hormones causing this behavior? I havent noticed it with any of the others, he only does it to her. He has always been the sweetest rooster to his girls and I but somethings changed between this particular hen and him.

He just hasn't learned any manners.

An elder/Alpha rooster would put him in his place, or bossy hens could put him in his place too.

1yr+ is considered a rooster, & he should be passed the hormonal rage stage.(Not sure how to describe it)

 

[CannedMonster]

By chance, was the Brahma hen recently broody for a long time or separated from the flock for any length of time?
I have had roosters act like that towards a recent broody because she was “gone” so long that they treat them as an intruder.
I’ve also had roosters do that with hens that belong to another rooster.
Unfortunately you may have to rehome the hen.

 

[aart]

I've had the flock cock target a certain hen.
Luckily she was able to keep away from him until he got over it(took months).

 

[Mrs. K]

I would not be surprised if this bird does have something wrong with her, She is three years old, and it is not uncommon for birds to die at this age. I have read of this behavior, where the rooster is picking up signs that people are not.

I think you should put the rooster back with the flock, and remove this girl into a separate area, if you want, with another older bird to keep her company.

Then I would wait and see what happens. If the rooster picks another victim - he should be removed. If not, I would keep him with the flock.

Mrs K

 

[LaFleche]

he chases her away from all food, attacks her often until she submits to him then he just pecks her on the head and runs off, doesn't even mate her. Last night he chased her around and pecked her on the head so hard she was bleeding and rather than submitting to him she came running full speed to me and hid between me and a tree.

This calls for a nice dinner

has this sort of thing happened to anyone else before?

Yes. This happened to me early in my chicken keeping career with a Tetra hybrid rooster, that had been raised from chick by the loving Sessex hen who adopted him.
For some years she was his favourite, but suddenly he started chasing after her like a contract killer. She would submit to him as always, but he would stand on top of her whacking away at her head leaving her covered in blood and totally in shock.
I chased him off and took her in for wound care etc.

There was nothing wrong with this hen, as had been suggested by others. She was very healthy and prolific and lived to almost 7 years old.

but somethings changed between this particular hen and him.

In my case, the change happened to the roosters brain.

His concentrated hate would explode with his former favourite light Sussex hen, then proceeded to the other light Sussexes, then to the salmon coloured and all other lighter coloured hens in the flock.
The only ones he tolerated were BCM and deep red RIR.

I separated all the lighter hens and got another rooster (Westfälische Totleger) for their protection. The hens loved the new rooster and everything calmed down nicely until the big Tetra hybrid decided to attack one of the lighter hens through the fence.

Instantly the Westfälische Totleger rooster flew over the fence into the other run. He jumped right on top and taught the big bully such a lesson, that I later found him covered in is own blood and whining likea sissy hiding in the coop, while the new rooster was almost unharmed and busy charming all the ladies.

We butchered the nasty Tetra hybrid the same evening and ever since, I watch my cockerels closely for any bullying behaviour.

No hen should have to suffer through this, there are lots of well behaved and good mannered roosters, that really protect their hens and care for them instead of beating them up.

 

[Rustybelle Farms]

He has always been so sweet to his girls! This is the first time I have ever noticed something like this. I rechecked the hen again for any signs of illness/mites/lice/injury and nothing was present. She runs around the pasture happy as can be, energetic and lively. Still lays 5 eggs a week for me so I don't believe she's dying as suggested above. She is certainly not at the bottom of the pecking order, she is somewhere right in the middle as all other hens are indifferent with her. I have her sister as well and they are inseperable. I brought the rooster back into the flock yesterday and kept an eye on things. He does seem to chase off her sister a bit as well but not quit as aggressively as he does her. I hate to cull him as he quickly became one of my favorite Roos until this. He is so gentle and great with chicks as well...but certainly won't entertain a bully here..

Failed to mention he is not quite a year old yet. He is about 10 months old..

Thank you all for the advice! I'll continue to monitor

 

[EggWalrus]

He has always been so sweet to his girls! This is the first time I have ever noticed something like this. I rechecked the hen again for any signs of illness/mites/lice/injury and nothing was present. She runs around the pasture happy as can be, energetic and lively. Still lays 5 eggs a week for me so I don't believe she's dying as suggested above. She is certainly not at the bottom of the pecking order, she is somewhere right in the middle as all other hens are indifferent with her. I have her sister as well and they are inseperable. I brought the rooster back into the flock yesterday and kept an eye on things. He does seem to chase off her sister a bit as well but not quit as aggressively as he does her. I hate to cull him as he quickly became one of my favorite Roos until this. He is so gentle and great with chicks as well...but certainly won't entertain a bully here..

Failed to mention he is not quite a year old yet. He is about 10 months old..

Thank you all for the advice! I'll continue to monitor

There's your problem. Hormonal teenager.
Plus he doesn't have any older roosters to teach him manners and put him in his place. Other than with game breeds, it never hurts to have a few older roosters in the flock. They may scrap a few times but will iron it out between themselves. The older ones will keep the roos from becoming feral thugs.

 

[McChooky]

Unless you're a chicken whisperer you may never know why they're no longer getting along. IF he's not abusing the other hens leave him in the flock .If you don't have a suitable place to keep her separate and give her a friend or two you may need to re-home her.