Young rooster is picking on our older bantam

[JanKuziel]

I didn't see any threads with this topic. I started with 3 hens.. 2 sex-linked and 1 red cochin bantam. The 2 sex-linked have passed and my bantam was lonely so we got some more pullets to raise with her. Despite being a broody girl (she is 4.5 years old now, she was not mother material so we had to keep the chicks seperate. Once we started integrating them, Peggy (our bantam) was very bossy with them.. I assumed this is because she's the oldest. One of our pullets turned out to be a very handsome and fairly sweet roo. A sussex breed I think. The new flock are all about 4 and a half months old now.. and our roo is really coming into his own. But with this maturity he has suddenly become very aggressive with Peggy and chasing after her.. She used to stand up to him (she is so fiesty) but now is very subdued and runs away from him. But he is scarily aggressive towards her. She is getting depressed and I keep her inside at night in our laundry room as I don't have any way to monitor the coop at night yet. I have not had a rooster before and didn't really want one. Hens seem so much happier without one... but what do I do? I am now kind of worried about him becoming aggressive with our 2 labradoodles, who love our chickens. He is very very sweet with the girls he grew up with, feeding them the best treats, watching over them. But now he is literally standing out in the yard between where he thinks Peggy is and his girls. When he catches sight of Peggy he charges straight at her causing her to run to me, or hide if I'm not out. What do I do?

 

[igorsMistress]

I didn't see any threads with this topic. I started with 3 hens.. 2 sex-linked and 1 red cochin bantam. The 2 sex-linked have passed and my bantam was lonely so we got some more pullets to raise with her. Despite being a broody girl (she is 4.5 years old now, she was not mother material so we had to keep the chicks seperate. Once we started integrating them, Peggy (our bantam) was very bossy with them.. I assumed this is because she's the oldest. One of our pullets turned out to be a very handsome and fairly sweet roo. A sussex breed I think. The new flock are all about 4 and a half months old now.. and our roo is really coming into his own. But with this maturity he has suddenly become very aggressive with Peggy and chasing after her.. She used to stand up to him (she is so fiesty) but now is very subdued and runs away from him. But he is scarily aggressive towards her. She is getting depressed and I keep her inside at night in our laundry room as I don't have any way to monitor the coop at night yet. I have not had a rooster before and didn't really want one. Hens seem so much happier without one... but what do I do? I am now kind of worried about him becoming aggressive with our 2 labradoodles, who love our chickens. He is very very sweet with the girls he grew up with, feeding them the best treats, watching over them. But now he is literally standing out in the yard between where he thinks Peggy is and his girls. When he catches sight of Peggy he charges straight at her causing her to run to me, or hide if I'm not out. What do I do?

Hi. When you had the chickens separated were they able to see Peggy but just not interact physically? If not, he could be seeing her as an interloper and is protecting resources for his girls.

If you have the means, I would put Peggy with the girls and separate the rooster for now. Keep him where he can see and talk to the girls, but is unable to chase. He will learn to call the girls and be nice to them. If you don’t want a rooster, get rid of him.

 

[JanKuziel]

Hi. When you had the chickens separated were they able to see Peggy but just not interact physically? If not, he could be seeing her as an interloper and is protecting resources for his girls.

If you have the means, I would put Peggy with the girls and separate the rooster for now. Keep him where he can see and talk to the girls, but is unable to chase. He will learn to call the girls and be nice to them. If you don’t want a rooster, get rid of him.

They have always seen each other and interacted but she will not roost with them yet. I would love to find a new home for him but I don’t know how to go about that. I’ve not had one before and I don’t know any other chicken ppl. I know most end up in a pot so I’m hesitant too. He’s a good protector and takes good care of the girls. How do I go about finding a better suited place for him?

 

[JanKuziel]

Update: situation has been resolved.