not being very successful integrating hen into flock

[bj taylor]

she's had a hard time. my rooster is so darn hard on her. she tries to cooperate, but he's so rough, she ends up running for her life. I have sung this rooster's praises but i'm seriously not happy w/him right now. he's a year old. i'm wondering if he'll mellow, or is this the tone for the duration. the other girls don't have it so easy either.

 

[so lucky]

Can you provide some places for the hen to get away from the rooster? I'm thinking like a brush pile, a basket on its side, or under a shrub, etc.
Sometimes it helps to isolate the offending chicken for a while--you might try putting the rooster in a dog carrier or a separate fenced-off area. For a morning, or even all day. It will take him down a peg or two, and kind of upset his place in the pecking order. Might make him less sure of himself, less agressive, at least for a while.
I don't remember how many chickens you have, or what the setup is. Is the new hen old enough to start laying, or is she laying already? Is she about the same size as the other girls? If she is smaller, she could be at a real disadvantage.
I ended up having to get rid of my roo because he was just making life miserable for the girls. They were all young, and he was as randy as a teenage boy. Scared the feathers right off those poor girls. I didn't want to raise babies, so he was sort of unnecessary, anyway.
There have been volumes written on how to train a rooster, how to keep him from attacking people, etc, but the bottom line is, that roos are programmed to be aggressive to anthing that is a threat to his girls. And some roos just are over-active, if you know what I mean. There are lots of good older threads over on BYC that you can get some good ideas from.
Whatever you end up doing, please don't let the roo tear up the girl to the point that the rest of the girls jump in and go for the blood.
You can use blu-kote to cover the bleeding areas. Another idea is to get a chicken apron for her, to protect her back. Good luck. You will probably get some good feedback from the other chicken folks on here.

 

[digitS']

I don't know all that much about roosters. It has been a heckuva long time since I've had one. When I moved to "civilization," I decided that I really didn't want/need a rooster.

What I was thinking about is just the normal problems integrating. What my brother would do was to lean pieces of plywood up against the inside walls of his coop and pen. The new ones had room to squeeze behind the boards and travel one at a time, from end to end. Usually, they'd just hang out behind the board.

It makes sense to attach the board to the wall in some way so that there's no chance of it falling over.

Steve

 

[secuono]

If he is that rough on the others, too, I would eat or sell him. It's possible that when he is 2+ years old, he may mellow. But I wouldn't want him with my girls. There are nicer boys out there.

 

[Nyboy]

Unless he is a rare breed; roosters are a dime a dozen ,why keep one who is not good to his ladies?

 

[canesisters]

If he is that rough on the others, too, I would eat or sell him. It's possible that when he is 2+ years old, he may mellow. But I wouldn't want him with my girls. There are nicer boys out there.

WHAT?!?!?!?!? I was expecting the 'mellowing' to happen around 1yr (if it's gonna happen at all)

I love my roo. And when he's being good he's very good. But this weekend he's been a beast. Chasing the girls - who are running screaming from him. Attacking me, which got him attacked right back!! I was sure that this was the Summer when I'd see him settle down to be a respectable gentleman roo.
.... it might not be till next summer????
If this keeps up, I may have to make a call to my meat chicken raising neighbors.....

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

it could be the time of year too. i'm finding my boys are getting uppity lately and keep squabbling with each other. seems this happens this time every year though. i removed one of my youngest boys from the coop a few days ago because his brother kept picking fights with him and that would cause my older boys to try and get between them and in turn start staring each other down. my older boys have always behaved together for years but it is the younger boys that keep trying for the hens and will challenge the others in the process.

 

[baymule]

Unless you want to hatch out chicks, you really don't need the roo. I like the sound of a rooster crowing, but I don't have one, living in the middle of my small town. It is just too easy to go to the feed store and buy more chicks when I want them. Sorry I can't give you any advice on how to calm him down.

 

[bj taylor]

I had thought I had the best rooster in the world. initially I didn't want one because I had heard how difficult they can be. then this guy came along. he's a huge black australorp & he's just gorgeous. a hawk hit one of my girls & he jumped in & saved her - so I had him on a pedestal thinking he was the best. he's not aggressive w/people or the other animals.
never having been around them before, I don't know how much is to be expected & how much is excessive. I do need aprons for this one & the other four to cover their poor backs. I worry about those aprons being too hot in a hot climate though.
I'm currently just letting this one girl hang out by herself. there's lots of space. she seems to like my dogs better than the other chickens. she's as big as the others. she layed an egg today. it was white. I thought she was a buff orpington - not so I guess. the guy I got her from talked about how she sat on her eggs (unfertilized). I want a broody hen. I want to get to the point I am pretty self sufficient w/my chicken flock.

I've also got a dozen babies coming along (not from my own girls darn it). more chicken drama I guess.

 

[baymule]

Maybe he just needs more hens to spread the love around.