If you’re familiar with chicken social hierarchies you’ll know that the rooster is the head of the flock and you’ll know that the hens follow the rooster.
But what if the roles were reversed and the rooster isn’t in the position of power in the flock, the hens are? What if the hens are picking on the rooster? If this is happening in your flock then this article is for you.
Table of Contents
Hens picking on rooster:
When the natural order of your flock seems to be going array you’d likely start to worry, here are the possible reasons why your hens may be picking on your rooster
New rooster:
A new rooster in the group won’t automatically get all the respect of the other flock members, in fact, a new rooster will likely suffer and be picked on by the hens of the flock.
Each member of the flock is organized according to a social hierarchy called the pecking order. This pecking order determines which birds get the most respect based on size, who can attack others, and who can defend themselves the best.
A new rooster will be at the bottom of this hierarchy and will be picked on because of this
What to do:
There isn’t anything that a human can do if this is what’s going on, the new rooster will have to peck and defend itself against the hens and win, winning is how the rooster will gain respect and stop the hens pecking at it.
As long as the hens aren’t seriously injuring the rooster then you can let nature take its course.
The rooster is getting too close to the eggs:
Chickless hens are pretty relaxed, docile animals but mother hens certainly are not. Mother hens are very protective of their eggs and will become very confrontational to anyone that gets too close to them.
If your rooster accidentally, or on purpose, gets too close to the eggs then the hen may start picking on the rooster to get it away from her eggs
What to do:
The rooster will usually learn to stay away from the hen’s eggs if she is constantly picking on him every time he gets close to the eggs.
If the rooster doesn’t realize why he is being picked on, and keeps getting close to the eggs, or chooses to get close to the eggs despite being picked on, then you’d need to isolate the rooster or create an enclosure for the hen and her eggs to stay in
Junior rooster:
The older the rooster gets the more respect it commands and the more the hens will do as it wants, a younger rooster doesn’t have this advantage.
Hens don’t respect junior roosters right off the bat because these young roosters aren’t as experienced as their older counterparts.
The hens may test the junior rooster by picking on it and fluffing their hackle feathers at it. These are intimidating acts to the junior rooster who will back down from a hen who is doing this
What to do:
There is nothing you can do in this situation, the junior rooster needs to gain respect from the hens on its own. This will happen over time as the rooster grows and gains more confidence to take on the hen when the hen picks on it.
Once the rooster wins a fight against a hen, the hen will respect the rooster and not pick on it anymore.
Hormonal changes:
Every organism experiences hormonal changes, chickens included.
A hormonal change in chickens can cause them to become more aggressive than they usually are and this increased aggression can cause them to suddenly attack your rooster.
The hormone called androgen can result in an increase in the aggression of these birds.
What to do:
Chickens are usually no match for a rooster, and if a fight does break out then the rooster will be able to defend itself.
If the fight gets too wild, and the chicken draws blood, then you need to step in. If a chicken can harm a rooster then it can harm any of the other flock members.
Isolate the hen and give it time to calm down, also isolate the roster separately from the hen and give it time and space to recover from its injuries. Give the rooster its own food and water as it heals
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