Hen help needed, all you hen experts out there!

SophieLouBee

SophieLouBee

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Right, the jist is, my cockerel is attacking a new hen (H3)
I say new, we have had her two months now, she is a domesticated show hen I rescued from a pen full of cockerels.
I had a cock (C1) and a hen (H1) to start, C1 died, so got another cock (C2) and a hen (H2) to go with H1. All mixed fine as C2 and H2 were immature, and H1 accepted them. So we have H1, H2 and C2 all mixed fine.

H3, is also white, and fully mature (so i figured there shouldn't be a problem with C2, as no gender confusion)
Is it becuase she is domesticated and doesn't really as chickeny as the others, or is it because she's white?

C2 has pecked H3s feathers out from the back of her head and made her bleed, it's far to mean to be mating, as I've seem him canoodle H2, H1 is like matron and won't let him anywhere near her, rightly so.

I am quite attatched to H3, but my mother won't let me ring C2s neck either! Even though I said I'd replace him with another young cock to resolve it all! She also doesn't want to rehome H3, neither do I, as she lays and is sweet!

So, what do I do? I've vasalined, iodined and sudocremed the back of her head to a) deter the pecking and b) to soothe the rawness.
She is being kept seperate which she is perfectly happy about (because she was before I had to rescue her from pen of cocks), but the others get into her pen anyway, and it's a bit of a pain.

I'd like to mix them eventually, do I spray her black like the others, or if not what the hell do I do?
 
C2 has to go.
having two cosks with your hens will only end up with them fighting anyway so its better get him gone now.
 
URRR DUURRRR!
sorry i misread. im on a coco pops high at the moment!!!

In that case as above said. The others need to create some kind of a pecking order. our hens attack our cock at the moment but to be honest if i had a man stabbing me in the head and then trying to stick his bits in me i would gang up on him too.
 
I would put either H1 or H2 with H3 so you've got two pairs , for about 2 weeks or so then, at night when everyones sleepy i would put H3 and her pair back on the original perch with C2 and his pair , then they'll all wake up together and should be ok. You'll always have a pecking order and hens can be especially viscous but eventually they'll be fine.
 
Anti-peck spray? Have you tried that? Not used it myself but it's supposed to help as long as you re-apply it regularly. I think it's intended to be used for a short periods whilst the pecking-order in your flock is sorted out. It wouldn't be a long term solution.

TBH C2 needs to go. Some cocks are just unpleasant by nature. From my experience a cockeral with a nice temperament will accept all his hens; it's normally the hens which do the squabbling and pecking at each other. Do you have to keep a cockeral with your hens? Are you breeding?

If all of them HAVE to be kept, try the anti-peck spray for a while. If it doesn't work you'll just have to keep the picked-on hen away from the cockeral, ideally getting her another hen as a companion. Would certainly be simpler to removed C2 from the equation though! :)
 
It more than likely is because she is white and therefor different to C1 who is obviously also being very amerous to her as you say that the other pullets are inmature and not accepting C1's advances as yet. Another couple of hens should cure your problem.
 
try antipeck spray...i have one with a bald head. She looks like she is wearing a flesh coloured swimming hat. But he hasn't made her bleed. I've been spraying her with anti peck spray and it hasn't got any worse...she prob had the swimming cap look for 2 months now! Hope they eventually grow back

p.s. when I sprayed the anti peck the other day i thought 'i wonder if it is really that bad'.

IT IS
 
can you keep the girls together for a few days and keep him separate? would give them time to sort out who's in charge and so on, and get friendly without C2 interfering as blokes are want to do... *runs for cover* :D:D

Otherwise, anti-peck spray is the way to go!
 
Hi all! Thanks for advice.
I would gladly chop his pretty little head off if it was up to me! But my mother says not.... He isn't nasty generally, you can pick him up and whatnot, I think he's just teenage tbh.

The problem with her is, she doesn't seem to want to mix, all she wants to do is sit on my arm (I try not to baby her but it's so hard!!!).

I think I'm going two coop C2 and H1 together as she has a go a bit too. Anti pecking spray will be going on too :P I might even spray her black!

If in two weeks we haven't got anywhere, he is going in the pot. Either that or she is getting a penthouse hutch in the house :D :P
 
you could always try putting mustard on the feathers at the back of the chickens neck, has worked in the past although there are some chickens that like mustard lol
 
MAybe she still smells like a rooster having spent so much time in with them.

I know my rabbit got really nasty if he had a female that had been in the hutch with another male. I used to wash the female before putting her back - rabbit she lived with was neutered but still behaved like an entire male..
 
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