Rustybelle Farms
Hatching
- Jul 20, 2021
- 5
- 10
- 4
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.
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.