My rooster keeps attacking one hen and I don't know what to do...

[Erkaderka]

I currently have 9 birds total, two Delaware hens, three Jersey Giant hens, three easter eggers pullets and my easter egger rooster. Recently the rooster has been attacking one of the Delawares.
At first I thought he was just young and overly enthusiastic to mate because even my jersey hens have tiny bald spots on their heads. But recently I found the one Delaware all bloody in her face and neck area.
I thought it was the other Delaware hen because they have gotten into it once or twice already before(never this bad but I didn't think too much of it at the time.)
I just separated her until she was all healed up and reintroduced. Only to have the rooster attack her right infront of me while reintroducing! Made her bleed by almost ripping off her tiny waddle and ear area is bleeding now. I am dumbfounded. Not sure what to do now.

 

[LaurelC]

When I had a bully in my coop, my options were to eat her, separate her from the flock, or try pinless peepers. Since eating her and separating her seemed like less humane solutions than the peepers, I tried those. Kept them on her for a few weeks while the other birds healed up a bit, and when I removed them, she seemed to have learned her lesson.

Separating a bullied bird may be necessary to keep them alive, but when reintegrating them into the flock, they're likely to get bullied again while the rest of the flock decides what to do with the interloper.

 

[Erkaderka]

When I had a bully in my coop, my options were to eat her, separate her from the flock, or try pinless peepers. Since eating her and separating her seemed like less humane solutions than the peepers, I tried those. Kept them on her for a few weeks while the other birds healed up a bit, and when I removed them, she seemed to have learned her lesson.

Separating a bullied bird may be necessary to keep them alive, but when reintegrating them into the flock, they're likely to get bullied again while the rest of the flock decides what to do with the interloper.

I was looking at pinless peepers on amazon actually. How long did you keep it on your flock bully?

 

[LaurelC]

I was looking at pinless peepers on amazon actually. How long did you keep it on your flock bully?

They were on her maybe 2-3 weeks? She was pecking the legs of a few of my gals to the point they were afraid to stand up around her, so i treated them with blukote and it was starting to come off the by the time the peepers were removed.

I'd do a trial run of a couple of weeks to see if it resolves. If it does, take them off and see if the behavior resumes. If it does, put them back on for a bit longer and see where that gets you. Apparently sometimes it can take a while with more ingrained behaviors.

 

[Erkaderka]

They were on her maybe 2-3 weeks? She was pecking the legs of a few of my gals to the point they were afraid to stand up around her, so i treated them with blukote and it was starting to come off the by the time the peepers were removed.

I'd do a trial run of a couple of weeks to see if it resolves. If it does, take them off and see if the behavior resumes. If it does, put them back on for a bit longer and see where that gets you. Apparently sometimes it can take a while with more ingrained behaviors.

He just started attacking her and only her this past week. So hopefully its not something thats too hard wired. If this doesnt work I'll just have to make room in the freezer.

 

[WoDia]

I wouldn’t keep a rooster that draws blood. You can try chicken jail for awhile. But if he attacks the hen once returned, find a new rooster… or don’t keep one at all. I’m not meaning to sound harsh. I just know that it wont be long before the rest of the flock will be attracted to a bloodied hen as well. You can’t watch them 24 hours a day. If it’s as serious as you think, he’s got to go. I hope your sweet hen heals well and can be peacefully returned to the rest of your flock.

 

[Certified Chicken Lover]

I wouldn’t keep a rooster that draws blood. You can try chicken jail for awhile. But if he attacks the hen once returned, find a new rooster… or don’t keep one at all. I’m not meaning to sound harsh. I just know that it wont be long before the rest of the flock will be attracted to a bloodied hen as well. You can’t watch them 24 hours a day. If it’s as serious as you think, he’s got to go. I hope your sweet hen heals well and can be peacefully returned to the rest of your flock.

I agree with @WoDia I had a rooster with similar problems who would chase and hurt one of my hens in my early chicken keeping years and after he stopped for a time I assumed that all would be fine...fast forward to a week later when I left on a short trip and came back to find my hen scalped, near death, and in the long run she developed ocd of roosters. If you are experiencing rooster aggression towards your hens you need to start thinking of different options for your rooster. It isn’t fair to your hens especially when there are so many good roosters out there.

 

[sourland]

This behavior frequently happens with a dominant hen who has fought/rejected a rooster. It is behavior that frequently results in the death of the hen. Such a rooster may be fine with all other hens.

 

[Erkaderka]

I wouldn’t keep a rooster that draws blood. You can try chicken jail for awhile. But if he attacks the hen once returned, find a new rooster… or don’t keep one at all. I’m not meaning to sound harsh. I just know that it wont be long before the rest of the flock will be attracted to a bloodied hen as well. You can’t watch them 24 hours a day. If it’s as serious as you think, he’s got to go. I hope your sweet hen heals well and can be peacefully returned to the rest of your flock.

Only reason i got him to begin with was because of a hawk problem. Thought he'd protect all the hens, not single one out to beat her.

 

[Erkaderka]

This behavior frequently happens with a dominant hen who has fought/rejected a rooster. It is behavior that frequently results in the death of the hen. Such a rooster may be fine with all other hens.

I guess this Delaware hen he's been attacking was top hen at some point before I got the easter egger pullets and the rooster. I remember she would shoo him the first couple days we had him. But they've been all together for months now.