Rooster tried to kill hen

[delisha]

Quote: You said a rooster was trying to kill a hen.
There is a huge difference between a bird trying to breed a hen and a rooster trying to kill a hen. My answer is for a male trying to kill another bird.
My answer would be incorrect if the male was trying to breed a female. It would have nothing to do with my judgement.

 

[GD91]

I've never experienced this with any of my young roos.... In fact the roo I've got now however is a grab-a-passing-pullet-and-if-she-screams-let-her-go rooster.

He's learning

 

[katelk]

A 6 month old cockerel is also dealing with overactive hormones, and he MAY have been trying to mate with the hen. He may have tried it repeatedly. This can result in the feathers being gone from the back of the hen's head, and also the blood on both of them. If she resisted, then he may have gotten ahold of her comb as well.

Young cockerels haven't learned the "art of chicken love" yet, and they are clumsy, forward, agressive, and lack skill. They haven't learned to "woo" the hens. They also lack the respect of the hens, which can result in what you described. He probably needs to be separated for a few days, and then put him back in and observe the flock. Hopefully, if this has ben the case, he will learn some manners. Having an older, respected rooster in the flock teaches the young buks manners to some extent as well.

Just another possibility.

I agree with this. Newly maturing Roos are like teenage boys with no self restraint. Any injury is *probably* an accident. They do get better once they get a bit older. I almost got rid of my first roo that I raised from a baby because he was such a nightmare at this stage. He went from laying in my lap and following me everywhere to flogging and biting me when he was around the girls. However, my emotions got the better of me and I gave him a chance to grow out of it. Now he is a great roo he protects the ladies, gives them first dibs on food and treats, does his little dance to woo them, etc. I am glad I didn't lose my patience.

 

[Robinluvschicks]

One of the main reasons I came to BYC is because I have been mentally toying with the idea of putting my two Australorps together to see if they will make babies. The rooster and hen are the same age (going on 2). She is (I hope still is) the sweetest hen ever. He about tore me up when I got him out of his bachelor's quarters but has been a perfect gentleman with her. She is the "mama" hen to two Polish Crested hens so she is a little upset that they are not right with her, but they are in quarters right beside her so I am hoping she will feel romantic shortly. If not he will got back to the bachelor condo and she can go back to being a surrogate Great Aunt. I hope I am not completely wrong.

 

[subhanalah]

One of the main reasons I came to BYC is because I have been mentally toying with the idea of putting my two Australorps together to see if they will make babies.  The rooster and hen are the same age (going on 2).  She is (I hope still is) the sweetest hen ever.  He about tore me up when I got him out of his bachelor's quarters but has been a perfect gentleman with her.  She is the "mama" hen to two Polish Crested hens so she is a little upset that they are not right with her, but they are in quarters right beside her so I am hoping she will feel romantic shortly.  If not he will got back to the bachelor condo and she can go back to being a surrogate Great Aunt.  I hope I am not completely wrong.

why don't you let the rooster in with the flock? Are the polish still babies?

 

[Robinluvschicks]

No. Everyone outside is grown (at least 2 yrs old). I have kept my roosters separate because I do not want fertilized eggs. I give the eggs away and don't want my friends to have "surprises". This was the first time I have considered letting anyone procreate. I don't want the P.C. traumatized by having this big macho rooster chasing them around. Even if he is a 'nice' guy. Actually, the other reason is that none of my hens are the same breed at my roosters. . .except for the Australorps.

 

[subhanalah]

Fertilized eggs are no different than infertile eggs. Unless they are incubated, nothing develops, so there are no surprises.
I think the flock would be happier kept together
You don't have to hatch the eggs from the mixes.
It may even help with the rooster only having one hen in the scenario you propose, a rooster will over-mate a hen and that's not healthy, he needs more than one hen to spread out his drive.

 

[subhanalah]

Oh, and you can put food coloring on her vent to know which eggs are hers (if you have other brown egg layers) so you know which eggs you want to incubate and which ones you want to eat/sell/give away.

 

[Robinluvschicks]

Okay, first--I do not want to give away fertilized eggs. I can never be sure how or how long someone is going to keep them before they use them and as a kid I remember seeing that awful "thing" in an egg at grandma's every now and then. I don't want it and I don't want to gross out anyone by giving them something like that. Everything I have (with the exception of the Polish Crested) lay brown eggs. So I just won't have a rooster in with all my hens. They are in communication (if you want to call it that) but they are separated by a fence.
Second, the Polish Cresteds have such a limited field of vision that they I don't feel they can be left with the mix of hens I have. They may not get injured intentionally but when they get spooked they dash around and could run into something and be injured. The Australorp hen has been sort of a big sister to them. I do have to admit to being very relieved when I saw the hen and rooster on the roost this morning. And upon returning from work this afternoon, that he is still behaving himself. Depending on the weather and how the hen is acting (I found an egg on the ground not in the nest box today) I may let him stay in with her about a week. Any longer than that would depend on them.
I know that if my hens could be free range it would solve a number of problems. But losing 2 Buffs and an Amerucana all in about 10 days to a family of hawks makes it necessary to have a covered run for them that limits their roaming. I have even seen bald eagles overhead on several occasions. I try to throw grass and veggie kitchen scraps to them as often as I can. They still have tiffs because of the "limited space". We also have something that was able to take two full grown male African geese, so I am super protective of the girls.

 

[bobbi-j]

Okay, first--I do not want to give away fertilized eggs. I can never be sure how or how long someone is going to keep them before they use them and as a kid I remember seeing that awful "thing" in an egg at grandma's every now and then. I don't want it and I don't want to gross out anyone by giving them something like that. Everything I have (with the exception of the Polish Crested) lay brown eggs. So I just won't have a rooster in with all my hens. They are in communication (if you want to call it that) but they are separated by a fence.
Second, the Polish Cresteds have such a limited field of vision that they I don't feel they can be left with the mix of hens I have. They may not get injured intentionally but when they get spooked they dash around and could run into something and be injured. The Australorp hen has been sort of a big sister to them. I do have to admit to being very relieved when I saw the hen and rooster on the roost this morning. And upon returning from work this afternoon, that he is still behaving himself. Depending on the weather and how the hen is acting (I found an egg on the ground not in the nest box today) I may let him stay in with her about a week. Any longer than that would depend on them.
I know that if my hens could be free range it would solve a number of problems. But losing 2 Buffs and an Amerucana all in about 10 days to a family of hawks makes it necessary to have a covered run for them that limits their roaming. I have even seen bald eagles overhead on several occasions. I try to throw grass and veggie kitchen scraps to them as often as I can. They still have tiffs because of the "limited space". We also have something that was able to take two full grown male African geese, so I am super protective of the girls.

It doesn't matter how long someone keeps eggs before they use them - they will not incubate in the refrigerator, or sitting on the counter (unless it's 99 - 100 degrees in the house). If you found partially developed chicks in eggs, it's because they were not collected daily and a hen was likely sitting on them. I know I'm not going to change your mind, but just wanted to give you that information if you ever decided to put your chickens all together.