silkie rooster is bullying one hen only

[crushgiant]

Hi, I'm new... I've been reading posts on here for at least a year and I always find my answer but now I'm at my wit's end trying to figure out what to do and just need to let it all out and hear what answers and advice come.
My rooster and 3 hens grew up together and are all a little over a year old. He has a silkie hen, and his best friend is a barred rock, those two hang out all day together like mates while the silkie hen kind of tags along. The third hen is a New Jersey giant. He has always chased after her since he started mating them. She's missing tons of her back feathers from mating. But now she is also missing lots of feathers from her bum, where I've discovered within the last two months there are also sores, blood blister looking spots, and scabs. I checked for lice and mites. Don't see that.
He's pulling her feathers out! People ask me if I'm sure it's not the barred rock but it's definitely the rooster. I've seen him do it many many times. I've even caught him with 3-6 feathers in his mouth! And he's done it right in front of us all in the yard.
She hides from him. She puts her face down in a dark corner throughout the day if they are in the coop. At any given moment that I look out the window I will most likely see him pecking her into submission in the same dark corner behind the run's hatch door. He chases her and pecks at her feet or bum or head. But only her!
I've separated him for a week, when he returned to the flock he did it again. I separated him for 2 weeks. Upon his return he did it again. He is separated again now and it's been another week. When he is gone she regains her confidence and hangs out with the others, usually peacefully side-by-side with the barred rock.
I read that I should put blu-kote on her bum, which I did, and she's healing, but he's not deterred. No one else pecks at her.
Now, in addition, in an attempt to give him more hens, we let the the silkie hen raise 6 babies... three of them turned out to be roosters. They are almost three months old.
I read that maybe the rooster is plucking her feathers bc he needs more protein so I started growing black soldier fly maggots (blegh... shudder) and feed them to him and all of rest. Doesn't stop him from pulling out her feathers, though.
During the day when they free range he chases her but she has room to run. She always runs to us for help if we're outside. And still when he catches up to her he pulls out her feathers.
She wanders away from the flock and seems happy to do her own thing. Is this a reason he would bully her and only her, or is she doing it to get some peace and quiet? Bc when he's in solitary, she and the barred rock stick side by side in the coop or free ranging, dust bathing, sun bathing, all of it.
I've also read that she is probably the weakest hen, but if I got rid of her

then would he likely bully the next weakest hen?
She's our most family-friendly hen, she even comes to the door to see where we are. I got the silkies bc I always read that they are the friendliest but it's the jersey giant, hands down, for us that is the friendliest as well as most interactive. I would not like to get rid of her!
He seems good to the rest of the flock, although a bit rough when mating. I've seen him call the barred rock over to eat things he's found, I've watched him groom the silkie hen, he guards over them, he never eats before the hens, he alerts everyone at the slightest suspicion of danger, he even sends the whole flock to their coop at night and then goes back to his own bachelor pad, he is getting so used to being in solitary confinement. But as soon as he gets integrated back in the big coop, let the feather plucking begin.

but only for the New Jersey giant hen.

I'm going crazy trying to figure out if his behavior is unacceptable and if he should be replaced with a new guy? Will having more hens be enough to help if we fill in the flock with some additional hens? Will the young roosters learn this behavior from him if they are around him too long before they are re-homed?
I've read that some roosters outgrow rough behavior... Is it rough behavior or straight up bullying?
We are leaving this week for a month and the chickens will be in the care of a pet sitter. So now my anxiety level has risen, and I decided I had to find out if I should act before we leave. And what is the general consensus as to how to handle this situation?
I've mentioned everything I can think of, hence this very long post- I'm sorry about the length and I'm sorry if I'm asking too many questions in a post but thank you for taking the time to read it.
Below is a picture of their coop and the a-frame coop we use when he gets put in solitary, close to the run, so you can see how much space they have,
and they range on 1/2 acre. I do believe they have ample space.
also, a picture of her bum area, this was about a month ago, her feathers are much more scarce at this point, but she is beginning to heal from him being separated and using the blu-kote.

he came into our flock when someone gave me a 'buddy' for the young silkie chick when i got her. i was suspicious but i couldn't tell he was a rooster, so when we finally heard him crow, we had already become attached and decided to keep him around with his 'wife'. ironically, the jersey giant slept with them in a huddle and protected them from the bigger pullets, including the barred rock and a rhode island red we used to have. this is the thanks she gets…:/






If I've left out pertinent information please let me know.

 

[chooks4life]

Hi, I'm new... I've been reading posts on here for at least a year and I always find my answer but now I'm at my wit's end trying to figure out what to do and just need to let it all out and hear what answers and advice come.
My rooster and 3 hens grew up together and are all a little over a year old. He has a silkie hen, and his best friend is a barred rock, those two hang out all day together like mates while the silkie hen kind of tags along. The third hen is a New Jersey giant. He has always chased after her since he started mating them. She's missing tons of her back feathers from mating. But now she is also missing lots of feathers from her bum, where I've discovered within the last two months there are also sores, blood blister looking spots, and scabs. I checked for lice and mites. Don't see that.
He's pulling her feathers out! People ask me if I'm sure it's not the barred rock but it's definitely the rooster. I've seen him do it many many times. I've even caught him with 3-6 feathers in his mouth!

And he's done it right in front of us all in the yard. She hides from him. She puts her face down in a dark corner throughout the day if they are in the coop. At any given moment that I look out the window I will most likely see him pecking her into submission in the same dark corner behind the run's hatch door. He chases her and pecks at her feet or bum or head. But only her!

I've separated him for a week, when he returned to the flock he did it again. I separated him for 2 weeks. Upon his return he did it again. He is separated again now and it's been another week. When he is gone she regains her confidence and hangs out with the others, usually peacefully side-by-side with the barred rock.

I read that I should put blu-kote on her bum, which I did, and she's healing, but he's not deterred. No one else pecks at her.

Now, in addition, in an attempt to give him more hens, we let the the silkie hen raise 6 babies... three of them turned out to be roosters. They are almost three months old.

I read that maybe the rooster is plucking her feathers bc he needs more protein so I started growing black soldier fly maggots (blegh... shudder) and feed them to him and all of rest. Doesn't stop him from pulling out her feathers, though.

There is nothing natural to chickens that tells them that when they need protein they need to attack and cannibalize one another. We've bred that behavior into them and it's strongly heritable. It's a mental aberration. Some chooks cannibalize, others don't, those who don't cannibalize can starve to death for want of protein without cannibalizing, and those who do cannibalize will often do it almost like a hobby, an obsessive neurotic behavior not even based on hunger. Feeding more protein is a bit of a bandaid cure and will work for some but generally if you have cannibals it's only a matter of time before a bird gets injured and then killed by its own flock.

During the day when they free range he chases her but she has room to run. She always runs to us for help if we're outside. And still when he catches up to her he pulls out her feathers.

She wanders away from the flock and seems happy to do her own thing. Is this a reason he would bully her and only her, or is she doing it to get some peace and quiet?

Bc when he's in solitary, she and the barred rock stick side by side in the coop or free ranging, dust bathing, sun bathing, all of it.

Since she stays with the flock when he's not around, but avoids it when he is around, this is definitely due to his aggression.

Roosters don't bully hens for avoiding the flock. Some roosters are concerned about disparate little flocks and try to round them up into one flock, but they don't assault hens like he's doing just because they want to maintain one flock. It sounds to me like he's treating her like a subordinate rooster, trying to drive her away permanently, but then he's mating with her... Strange. Some roosters are like that though.

I've also read that she is probably the weakest hen, but if I got rid of her

then would he likely bully the next weakest hen?

Yes, he'd likely just pick on another bird. You almost never solve bullying by removing the victim. She is possibly just too large for his tastes, some hens of some breeds also have more red about the face and wattles and crest than some roosters like, as some of them interpret that as being male.

Since the rest of them aren't attacking her, I would assume it's not too likely to be due to a fault on her part. There is a chance it is, just like there's a chance it's due to a fault on his part (according to my experience and beliefs that's the case) and either way it comes down to whether you want to keep a rooster who treats others like this. Sometimes my roosters would dislike a certain hen, but they'd let her know she wasn't wanted without violence, and she was free to do her own thing without molestation.

She's our most family-friendly hen, she even comes to the door to see where we are. I got the silkies bc I always read that they are the friendliest but it's the jersey giant, hands down, for us that is the friendliest as well as most interactive. I would not like to get rid of her!

You shouldn't get rid of her judging by that; she appears to represent a fair bit of family value to you guys, putting the pleasure into poultrykeeping probably more than your rooster does. Since you're not farming or trying to maintain purebred lines, that's probably a more serious consideration for you than it would be for some others, who would put up with some absolutely vicious pieces of work just for the sake of breeding them or for commercial profit.

If you keep bullies you end up with a flock that is a misery to own, to watch, and to one another, but if you take a hard line against bullies you end up with a flock that is a joy to own, to watch, and to one another. Would you prefer to breed more chooks with the roosters' attitude, or hers? It's a bit simplified but if you keep at it for about a half-dozen generations of selecting for the traits you want, that's pretty much what you end up with in terms of behavior and aggression or lack thereof.

He seems good to the rest of the flock, although a bit rough when mating. I've seen him call the barred rock over to eat things he's found, I've watched him groom the silkie hen, he guards over them, he never eats before the hens, he alerts everyone at the slightest suspicion of danger, he even sends the whole flock to their coop at night and then goes back to his own bachelor pad, he is getting so used to being in solitary confinement. But as soon as he gets integrated back in the big coop, let the feather plucking begin.

but only for the New Jersey giant hen.

It's not an easy choice for many especially when there are good and bad points in the same individual.

You could get her another companion, male or female, but roosters who are aggressive to hens are often wildly aggressive to other males; since you have some young males if I read correctly, maybe in time she will split away from the original flock and have her own, outside his influence. With aggressive males or potentially aggressive males, rearing new males under their watch is the best way to introduce them as they're less likely by far to be killed.

You may eventually have to choose between him or her. But you can try all alternatives first. Giving her a separate sleeping area may appease him, as much as I'm against bully-coddling, or it may increase his aggression; it depends to what extent his aggression is something he's bent on expressing.

If it's a highlight of his day to assault her, he's not really a good rooster. Her quality of life has to come into consideration somewhere too, which I can see is on your mind by the fact that you're trying to address this.

You may be able to find her a good home, but I personally wouldn't part with a family pet that pleases everyone for a nasty rooster who may be useful with the rest of the flock. You could make him a run, or make her a run, to keep them separate, but permanent isolation should be a last ditch attempt because it can and often does increase the risk of extreme violence should the animals meet up again.

I'm going crazy trying to figure out if his behavior is unacceptable and if he should be replaced with a new guy? Will having more hens be enough to help if we fill in the flock with some additional hens? Will the young roosters learn this behavior from him if they are around him too long before they are re-homed?

Whether his behavior is unacceptable or not is your say. To me, no, it's not. Adding more hens is, like adding more protein, rarely more than a bandaid cure, modifying the situation to suit the worst animal. Roosters bent on aggressiveness will express that no matter how many hens they have. It's not dependent on the hens, it's dependent on the roosters. Good roosters won't hurt hens even if they only have one, but bad roosters can have a hundred and still harm them. The same is true for male-male aggression, no amount of hens will stop roosters bent on killing other roosters. It's not about the hens, the additional females are added to distract but that only works with males who have enough instincts to look after hens (not all do) and the inclination to do so rather than fruitlessly attack other males who aren't presenting any challenge to them.

I've read that some roosters outgrow rough behavior... Is it rough behavior or straight up bullying?

The rough mating with the other hens is unkind and indicative of his excessive aggression, unless you've described clumsy mating as rough mating. Since he's over a year old now, no, this is most likely not clumsiness and it's unlikely he will grow out of it as that's usually achieved months before the first birthday mark. 'Unlikely' isn't 'impossible', though.

He is undoubtedly bullying your Jersey. I suspect that if left to continue he may eventually disembowel her; the attacks on her vent area are generally seen with pre-cannibalistic behavior and it's a vulnerable area, easily damaged.

We are leaving this week for a month and the chickens will be in the care of a pet sitter. So now my anxiety level has risen, and I decided I had to find out if I should act before we leave. And what is the general consensus as to how to handle this situation?

Personally I'd get rid of him, but in your case it may be better for now to just think the decision over and only make the choice when you're not under stress or worrying about it... Trying to lessen the chances of you making a choice you regret.

There's always the chance things escalate while you're gone and she has nobody to run to for protection; you may need to evaluate which is more important to you, him or her.

There's a chance she may be faulty in some way, but I don't keep animals that attack sick or hurt animals because as they are not wild, but are domesticated animals, I make the cull choices, not them. Often there's no way to know whether he's aggressive because she's ill or weird, or because he's ill or weird.

I've mentioned everything I can think of, hence this very long post- I'm sorry about the length and I'm sorry if I'm asking too many questions in a post but thank you for taking the time to read it.
Below is a picture of their coop and the a-frame coop we use when he gets put in solitary, close to the run, so you can see how much space they have,
and they range on 1/2 acre. I do believe they have ample space.

They do have adequate space, far more than many chooks get. Aggression due to lack of space is actually often down to genetic traits as well, some cope, some don't; it's also in large part due to diet, if they're getting enough nutrition they won't often feel aggressive if overcrowded whereas if their diet is lacking in some way they are often more aggressive no matter how much space they have. 'Complete' feeds are usually incorrectly labeled as many contain around 12 to 20-odd nutrients whereas around 80 are actually necessary for full health and longevity.

Ultimately, like the hens-per-rooster issue, it's not the amount they have that makes them aggressive or nonaggressive, it's down to the individual and adding more only serves to placate those individuals who attack with less around, and even then it's a very weak and often useless control mechanism for those mentalities.

also, a picture of her bum area, this was about a month ago, her feathers are much more scarce at this point, but she is beginning to heal from him being separated and using the blu-kote.

he came into our flock when someone gave me a 'buddy' for the young silkie chick when i got her. i was suspicious but i couldn't tell he was a rooster, so when we finally heard him crow, we had already become attached and decided to keep him around with his 'wife'. ironically, the jersey giant slept with them in a huddle and protected them from the bigger pullets, including the barred rock and a rhode island red we used to have. this is the thanks she gets…:/

He may just be one who needs someone to bully. I don't look kindly on such behavior, but maybe the young cockerels are going to improve his behavior and direct it away from her... Not too likely though. Some roosters, raised only with hens or having never met adult males in their adulthood, treat hens as a combination of male and female, or as mateable males.

Anyway, best wishes with your situation.

 

[crushgiant]

Thank you so much. I appreciate your thorough response. It's a lot to stew on. I've been spending a lot of time in the coop just sitting and watching; maybe he is treating her like she's a mateable rooster actually. Never thought of that but now that you mention it, maybe she is putting the rooster vibe out there to him as well. I noticed she puffs up around him. And her tail appears to be in what I call the 'high alert' position. Up and fanned out somewhat. Maybe it's her defense mechanism and/or they are feeding off each other's behavior. Either way he wants her out and she is obviously ruffled to be around him.
All the babies are his offspring, 4 of them with her. (2 of the Roos and 2 hens).
Disfunctional family :/

 

[chooks4life]

Has she ever been broody? The puffed out, tail fanned position some of my hens used to adopt when with babies or temporarily off the nest and some other birds used to get aggressive to any broody hens, as I would guess that level of constant semi-alarm they show with their body registers as almost like constant low level hysteria and therefore mental abnormality... But that's one theory, really I always found the birds that attacked hens showing broody behaviors lacked sufficient social instincts themselves to get along in peace with the rest of the flock, there is always some reason or another to attack with that sort.

Broody hens who didn't puff etc didn't get the same response, but I still removed those constantly alarmed/aggressive type broodies and the males (and females) who reacted negatively to them. Can't have any animals barreling over chicks to attack a mother whose nerves or mentality is just a bit out of whack, she's doing a necessary job even if she's a little excessive at the time. I found those more edgy mothers were not as good mothers as the more calm ones, it was a cumulative reason-based decision to not keep that sort of hen nor the animals that reacted adversely to them.

Pretty much all of my cull decisions and criteria are based on having first tried to breed, train and alter behaviors and genetics first and then finding it safer and faster to just cull. Sometimes cull just means rehome. Good mother hens are always in high demand, I've found.

Some hens stay in that constant state of riled up mother instinct, puffed all the time, always crankier or more alarmed than the situation calls for. They're more likely to be bullied by all members of the average flock, I had to cull against aggressive reactions to mothers initially as they're common in normal flocks and my starting flock was of course comprised of average birds from many sources... I also culled against that riled up maternal habit because it bred true too often and was likelier to cause infant mortality than calmer mothers.

The reason I think he may be treating her like another male somewhat is because the only time I've seen males rip out abdominal feathers is when a subordinate male is defying an alpha until the very last minute he can before fleeing, and the alpha takes some of his pants feathers out to teach him some respect. I haven't had that happen in ages with mine, again due to culling for excessive aggression but this time it was an indirect result as I didn't cull against that trait itself, it just vanished with other aggressive behaviors over time.

Anyway, it's just a theory and the actual situation may or may not escalate, best wishes with sorting them out.

 

[crushgiant]

no, she's never been broody. i notice she only does it around him. he gets his monkey up when she comes near him, it's like he's thinking "how dare you enter my vicinity!" it's like if she even looks at him he is in pluck mode. she puffs, he chases.
it's an amazing process to watch, the way he coddles his little silkie and makes nests for her, herds her back and forth, the way he hangs out with the barred rock like a couple of buddies just talking shop. the giant (who is not bigger than the barred rock) will run behind me when he chases her, or roost beside me, she'll let me pet her and get all cozy.
yeah, the rough mating might be clumsy mating actually. sometimes he looks all over the place. maybe he's just grabbing whatever he can to stay on top and it ends up a mess of squawking and feathers. i don't know.
thanks again, i'm going to take your advice and just at least wait until we get back and see what, if anything, has changed. at least we have an extra coop so we can separate them or the sitter can separate if she needs to.
i do feel less urgency now, knowing more angles to look at the situation. thank you again so much for your help.

 

[crushgiant]

i'll just let the sitter know the situation and let her know not to keep them cooped up together. but you're saying keeping him around with the young cockerels is better for them for now?

 

[enola]

It is time to invite him to dinner. .... he won't be needing any silverware.......if you get what I am saying......

 

[chooks4life]

Her behavior is quite strange, to be fluffing at him when she's never been broody. It may be feeding his behavior, but even if that were the case, well, you already know my stance on aggression for anything less than a seriously good reason.

The thing about the cockerels is that keeping him around them during their adolescence teaches them more respect and teaches him more tolerance, if of course all parties are somewhat willing to learn such things. Removing them now, as they're getting older, from his daily activities can result in a severe incident when you return them; doing such a thing can cause a rooster to sort of look at them with new eyes and realize they're swiftly becoming competition, whereas if you don't remove them chances are they'll fly under the radar for some time yet, really probably only emerging when they feel ready to do so, and in the meanwhile acting juvenile around him.

Sometimes a chook will apparently forget flock members within a few days flat, though most take at least a few weeks or longer. Either way they need to restore hierarchy every time flock members vanish then reappear so to avoid stress I'd avoid separating him from the cockerels, especially because those little fellows will be starting to eye the hens off now. They may act innocent when the rooster is around but if you remove him, I'd bet you'd see some very changed behavior quite quickly.

Best wishes with them.

 

[crushgiant]

A nice man took him (and two of the cockerels) to live on a farm today. Or... At least that's what they told me. Just when I was looking up 'how to slaughter a chicken' and realized I can never do it myself. They tell me he will be loved...

(with rosemary?)
He's been such a pain in the butt this whole time, so I can't believe how sad I feel maybe it was the way his wife looked at him. Anyway, for the love of small children and our family pet with mysterious behavior, we let him go. I don't think of what happens beyond this point. But hopefully our flock is more peaceful. Thanks for your help and information.

 

[chooks4life]

Sorry it didn't work out as you hoped, if you were hoping to keep him that is, which was my impression. Sometimes they make these decisions for us with their behavior. I can recall a few roosters and hens who I would have kept if their behavior hadn't made that impossible.

Even if he does eventually get loved (with rosemary) I'd bet he's going to be bred first and live a fairly happy life, plus he already has had more quality of life than most male chooks get. Nobody tends to get a Silkie rooster with the dinnerpot in mind and their cuteness can save them from it even when they deserve it.

Best wishes.