Battle of the sexes

Skinny rooster · Post by **Skinny rooster** » Sun Apr 03, 2016 2:47 pm

This morning I placed my young ee bantam rooster in with my little hens, he is a good size so not a wimp. The hens have been without a rooster for two weeks. In the pen is a two year old mixed barred rock hen, she has buff Brahma bantam in her so not huge but is solid like a little bowling ball with legs. As the rooster strutted around, she took one look at this stranger, fanned her tail, turned sideways, dropped one wing and then proceed to kick rooster butt around and around the pen, she places herself between the other hens and the rooster, he tried to fight back but she put the boots to him, hahaha. Anyone ever see this before? My ee bantams do have some standard in the so not too small.

Post by **WLLady** » Sun Apr 03, 2016 3:06 pm

i have a black tailed buff marans hen that is absolutely ruthless and shows no mercy with any boys.....she is going to be going to new home with no boys this summer....she just isn't into this whole having a rooster in the flock thing. she's great with the other hens...and it doesn't matter if the boy is twice her size, she still whips his butt.....

ross · Post by **ross** » Sun Apr 03, 2016 3:15 pm

Yep , I've always put the rooster in the pen to claim it for a week THEN put the hens in . Luck

SandyM · Post by **SandyM** » Sun Apr 03, 2016 3:19 pm

I have one barred rock that kicks big barred rock rooster butt regularly. She will stand eye to eye with him and he backs down. She has pounced on him and chased him. The others all stand at attention when the shenanigans is going on. She is queen bee!

kenya · Post by **kenya** » Sun Apr 03, 2016 3:44 pm

I agree with Ross, you would have been better to put the hen's in his pen, some hen's can put the boots to a young rooster so much so that sometimes he never breeds the hen's. If the hen's are a little unsure of their surroundings they are more likely to accept a stranger.

Post by **WLLady** » Sun Apr 03, 2016 5:21 pm

i always move the hens into the boys pens.....this little black tailed buff marans is just a horrible hen. LOL. she even took on the 2 roosters that run with the layers when i got fed up and fired her out the door to the great outdoors (she'd never been outside before). no fear in that hen.

Skinny rooster · Post by **Skinny rooster** » Mon Apr 04, 2016 8:36 pm

Lol, all was well by evening, the little EE hens were following him around. The barred was doing her own thing and would just walk past him, which was a huge improvement from earlier with her running after him screaming "die intruder die"! I have seen this before with a rooster not fully sexually mature yet but not to one ready to breed. I think part of the problem was the barred is bonded to the Cochin Rooster in the pen next door, I had to take her out because I couldn't tell which egg was her's and which were from the Cochin hens.

Robbie · Post by **Robbie** » Mon Apr 04, 2016 8:44 pm

It's always nice to have peace in the coop.

windwalkingwolf · Post by **windwalkingwolf** » Mon Apr 04, 2016 9:54 pm

It definitely happens. I introduce a rooster by putting him in a cage in the ladies coop, let them get to know each other for a few days first, and because he's behind bars, dominant hens don't feel as much a need to thrash him once he's let out. Also doesn't disrupt laying as much this way, I find.