rude rooster

[chickendesert]

good morning all
i am a new chicken mother and thus have some questions about my chickens' behavior. we have two hens and one rooster, whoe all grew up together but was seperated for a few days (don't know if that's a factor) since they moved into their new home the rooster has been chasing one of the hens away from the food and possibly out of the roost (it's extremely cold at night thus I don't know why the hens are sleeping outside and the rooster inside)
he seems to be protective of the other hen, allowing her to eat with him and they stay together, leaving the other hen affraid and possibly hungry (i have started feeding her where she hides but am also not sure if that's a bad idea)

he is not aggressive towards anybody or anything else, thus i am worrying that there might be something wrong with my hen?
i appreciate any and all advice.
one love

 

[N F C]

Welcome to BYC!

I would be concerned for the safety of your hen for a couple of reasons. The rooster could cause some serious damage/death to her if he isn't kept away from constant contact with the girls. None of them should be sleeping outside at night, it's not safe...close the girls inside the coop around dark and let them out in the morning. The rooster can have his own bachelor quarters. You have to provide a safe environment for that girl so she can eat and drink without harassment.

Can you add a few more girls to your flock? That would give the left out one some company plus it may keep the rooster from over breeding the one hen he does favor.

Those are my thoughts anyway...you'll probably get more from other members.

Good luck.

 

[chickendesert]

Thank you so much for all the advice. Interestingly enough I haven't made any changes yet besides feeding them on two spots instead of one, and they are all very happy together now. No more chasing or hading technically they are never really outside because their very wellprotected from any predators. Are there any other reasons for them not to be sleeping outside of the roost? I want to believe that I can trust them to regulate their own temperature . . Is that naive of me?

 

[N F C]

Maybe I didn't understand your initial comments about them "sleeping outside". Are they inside a coop at night? If they are not inside the coop, I don't see how they are "very well protected" from predators.

You mentioned that it is extremely cold outside. Birds tolerate cold better than heat but how cold is it where you are? Chickens will huddle together when they are chilly...is the rooster letting her get that close to him and the other girl?

Sorry, maybe I don't understand your set up, or maybe it's the terminology (roost vs. coop).