Why does my roo hate one of the hens?

[chickensioux]

Could she be the top hen? He won't let her eat, constantly chases her away from everything. She has to eat on the run all the time. She does fine but it just doesn't look like much fun to me. What gives?

 

[4 luv of eggs]

I wish I knew myself. I had a roo that was only nice to his brooder mates. He would eat with the girls, pile with them and let them groom him. The other younger ladies were another thing. He would never let them have any treats, chased them constantly and when they saw him they'd run for cover.

It was pitiful to watch. When he started pulling hunks of feathers from them and flinging them by their necks he had to go. I am now roosterless and the flock is so less stressed.

Maybe she is smaller than the other hens. That was the only thing I could figure in my case. There always seems to be one hen that is the outcast. It's so sad to watch.

 

[chickensioux]

Quote:
She is more slender than most of the girls he prefers. She is an Andalusian while most of the girls he likes are big cochins, wyandottes and faverolles. Luckily, she is very fast and usually escapes untouched. Luckily too, he is good to all of his girls. Of the ones he prefers (out of 26) there is only feather loss on their backs with no wounds or other injuries. I have watched him and he is a good boy to them.

 

[sourland]

He is probably frustrated because he has been unable to catch and breed her.