Rooster Suddenly Attacking my Hen!! HELP!!

[BokchoySama]

I have a rooster and a hen who are both different breeds(rooster is a leghorn, I’m not sure what the hen is) who I got together about 3 years ago and they get along very well. About a month ago I got a new hen(Delaware chicken) and introduced her to the flock about a couple weeks ago. They re-established their pecking order and things were going along just fine, there were no problems at all.

But just a few days ago, the two start ganging up and attacking the new hen out of nowhere. They get along just fine when they’re free ranging but I don’t know why they’re suddenly attacking her once it’s time to roost in the coop now, they didn’t attack her inside at all before

(And they’re not little pecks or mating pecks, they’re actual bites and jabs to the neck and body)

So now I just keep them seperate when they sleep and let them out together. I hope this is something that can be resolved.

 

[RWise]

I dont have an answer but, I picked up a pair of Delaware pullets about 12 months old. My EE Roosters, all of them, do not like these girls. all of them have pushed them away, not one of them has been seen mating these 2. Once the pecking order was done the girl all get along fine.
If this does not change soon I will be culling these birds from my flock.
Good luck!

 

[theoldchick]

Limited space can cause aggression. Especially this time of year when spring is in the air and mating is on their mind.

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

Greetings BokchoySama,

I read an interesting article some time ago, about racism in chicken flocks. I laughed when I read it. I hadn't seen any unusual behavior towards a particular breed, during new chicken integration.

That was until I brought in, a single white Light Sussex hen, in a group of five hens last Summer.

My rooster seemed to be accepting of the new hens in general. After quarantine, he was the first to meet them, and spend time with them alone. After another two weeks of this, I finally merged the newbies into the main flock. This is when things changed...I observed the white hen being chased away by the rooster, during treat time. Then, even some of her own flock mates started to harass her! The feather colors in the flock range from gold to black. The rooster is a Rhode Island Red.

The white hen suffered feather loss and even had part of her comb ripped off. Later, her weight started to drop, as well as her feather quality. After a visit to the vet, it was determined that she had either an infection or possible tumor, causing metabolic changes.

I believe that the rooster was the first to detect a differnce in her, not only her feather color, but more importantly her illness. I've had other hens with illness, but not harassed like this white hen. Chickens are very perceptive to changes and differences, in their flock mates. Sometimes reactions and behaviors to these changes can be unpredictable.

So what to do?

I first got to work in protecting the hen, by making her look more like the other chickens. A brown camo fabric hen saddle worked great. It not only gave her some added protection, it helped her blend in. I also treated her for her illness, which is still ongoing. But after three months, she is no longer being harassed. I have even changed her hen saddle to yellow with white polka dots.

Here is Winter, with her new saddle/pancho. You can see where the rooster has been rubbing off her wing feathers, from mating. As, he has now decided that she is quite attractive!

Perhaps a saddle will work for your hen too. But I would add a neck collar, for a while at least.

Here is a picture I got off the internet, it's a 'no sew' saddle with neck cover.

Well, these are my thoughts and experiences with this chicken behavior. I hope they have been helpful.

God Bless and peace to you.