Hen attacking young rooster ... is this normal?

[BackyardinWales]

Can anyone explain to me why my 36 week old hen seems to have it in for my 8 week old 'rooster'. He along with his 3 siblings are in their own coop within the same run and have been for two weeks. When she sees him, she chases him and, whilst the youngsters were out in the run for the first time today she corned him and was pecking at him. Is this normal? As she doesn't seem fussed about the other three youngsters. It makes me nervous as I have four more chick's moving in in the next couple of weeks. Won't be doing such close batches again.

 

[nuthatched]

Just teaching him manners

 

[MountainWoman73]

She's in charge of "her" flock and he's the new guy looking to take over. Perfectly normal behavior, and they'll probably work it out.

 

[BackyardinWales]

Thank you.

 

[BackyardinWales]

Just teaching him manners

Thank you.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Can anyone explain to me why my 36 week old hen seems to have it in for my 8 week old 'rooster'.

That hen is the flock master, she has taken over some of the duties a dominant rooster since it is a rooster-less flock. He's still a very young adolescent but may be showing signs of being a male, such as a bright red comb and wattles. She sees him as a future rival and wants to make sure he does not take over her flock. At that age he should be scared of her and try to stay away. I don't know how much room you have but the more the better.

When she sees him, she chases him and, whilst the youngsters were out in the run for the first time today she corned him and was pecking at him. Is this normal?

I don't know what is normal with chickens. Many different things can happen. What I see happen a lot is that the chicks quickly learn to stay away from the adults. If they invade the adults personal space they are likely to get pecked or otherwise attacked so they stay away. To me, this is normal. But occasionally you will have a chicken develop a strong dislike to a specific chicken. They may be the same age or as in your case there may be a difference in ages or maturity levels. When I see this it is typically between the boys but I practically always have a dominant rooster in my flock. With yours being the dominant hen I think it is the same thing.

If your cockerel can get away it could work itself out. The danger is that he gets trapped, either in a corner where he can't get away or he squats down and tries to protect his head but she continues to peck at his head. That's how they can kill each other, they drill a hole in the head by pecking. I've had that happen twice, once a two-week-old chick that decided to kill its sibling and once two 16-week-old cockerels where one killed the other. A few times I've locked a cockerel and his father in separate pens because of how they were fighting until I was ready to butcher one.

If that young male survives, at some point he will mature enough to take over the flock master position. That may be a relatively peaceful transition (it usually is in my flock) or it could mean a serious vicious fight between him and that dominant hen. I've seen that too.

 

[LaurenRitz]

I have one hen (yes, the dominant hen) that hates both young cockerels and adult roosters. She'll also go after any hens that submit to him.

Their "courtship" was interesting. She's his beta now.

 

[BackyardinWales]

Am I supposed to just let them all in together and leave them so they sort themselves out. This is my third day of waking up with a headache and feeling ill dreading what will happen if I do that. (I have let them in together while I was in there monitoring.)

 

[LaFleche]

Am I supposed to just let them all in together and leave them so they sort themselves out. This is my third day of waking up with a headache and feeling ill dreading what will happen if I do that. (I have let them in together while I was in there monitoring.)

Space and lots of clutter in the run are of the essence so he will be able to escape the attacs and hide out of sight.

Several feeders and water dispensers well spaced away and out of sight are important so the head heand will not be able to prevent him and the other youngsters from feeding.

How big is your run plus coop?
Some pictures would help to assess the situation.

 

[BackyardinWales]

The run is 3 x 4 meters, and contains the two coops at the moment, the youngsters one with food and water, and the two older girls coop which has their food and water.
There is also water at the youngsters end and the adult food at the other end where the youngsters haven't got to yet. (Fortunately, as I understand they shouldn't eat the 'grown up' pellets yet.) Sorry they're not great photos, but I hope they help.