A Bullying Cockerel

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One of our hens went broody and we put her in a seperate run for a while. After she came out the cockerel suddenly seemed to turn on her and was pecking her comb badly enough to make it bleed - I think if we hadn't been there to stop it he might have killed her. We put her back in her seperate run but she has started to lay again and we'd rather she went back into the hen house with the others (we have 5 hens altogether & the 1 cockerel). After a couple of days, we tried to let her out but he did the same thing - not straight away, after an hour or so. So, we have now put the cockerel on his own instead to see if it will break him of the habit but I'm not sure this will work or even if we are being cruel as, obviously, he can see the others but can't get to them! I can't find any advice about cockerels bullying the hens, it's usually the other way round! We never really wanted a cockerel but all 4 of our original hens went broody at the same time and we gave them some eggs - 2 hatched and one was this cockerel - never had any problem with him until now (1 year on).

Has anybody got any advice please?
 
Yes, don't worry. This is normal.

He doesn't realise she is (was) part of the flock and is acting as if she is a stranger. He has basically forgotten about her and needs to be re-introduced again.

The easiest / best way I find is to put her in the run separated (behind wire) feeding close to one another - they can get accustomed to one another again but he can't peck her.

You were right to remove her again once he drew blood.

Once they have had some time like this (say 1 week) then pop her in the house at night / when dark and hopefully when they wake up in the morning there will be less bullying. If he doesn't draw blood, leave them to it for as long as you can because they need to re-establish the pecking order. He sees her as a threat and wants to ensure he is at the top.

Have a read of this article for some more help: Introducing Chickens

Tim
 
Thanks very much Tim - we'll try this. Nearly wasn't a problem anymore today because that particular hen somehow ended up in the swimming pool and, when I fished her out, she was shivering with the cold and/or shock. However, I wrapped her up and kept her quiet and warm for a couple of hours and she seemed to recover so I've put her back in with the other hens tonight and hope she'll be fully recovered by morning. She seems to live life on the edge! Thanks again for your advice.
 
the only thing I can add is if pecking draws blood, put some Vicks Vapor Rub on it, the pecker only needs a couple of tastes and it puts them off. It helps the healing as well. your hen does live life in the fast lane?
 
Haaa :lol: yes, she must have fancied a drink and fell in!

I've had a couple of chickens fall into my duck baths - so I always keep bricks near the edge now so they can scramble out. It only happened when they ran out of water. The water container had cracked and leaked and I didn't notice.

Tim
 
Hi again, I'm afraid we are still having problems with the cockerel. He has been in a run on his own for a week now - he can see all the hens through the wire and, in fact, they like to gather around his run and hang out there for quite a lot of the time. Today, we thought he would have readjusted but, almost immediately, he started viciously pecking her again so we had to put him back. He really means business, I think he's trying to kill her. The only thing we can think of to do is move him to another part of the garden where he can't see any of the hens, leave him there for a week and see what happens next time we release him. If that doesn't work I'm afraid his time might be up. I would try to re-home him but, what if he takes against somebody else's hens? It's a shame as he's always been fine and still is with the other 4 hens.

Also, I wanted to ask if it is cruel to keep a cockerel on his own. Would it be kinder to despatch him or can they live quite happily alone?

Any more advice gratefully received and thanks for trying already.
 
Sometimes it can be very hard or even impossible to get them to accept one another. I wouldn't bother keeping him away from them for a while, it will only make matters worse IMO.

Normally when they are in close proximity to one another, they have time to adjust - but seems like he just won't take a hint!

The thing you might be able to try is to put him and the hen very close together for a day or two behind wire - in the hope that he can get used to her.

The only other thing I can think of is to give them loads of space (the garden for example) and then release him - leaving him to peck (within reason to the point where he's causing damage) - throwing down lots of corn / treats as a destraction. You could also try an anti-peck spray on her

I'm running out of ideas though!!! It's strange - it's usually the hens that fight - he needs to learn some manners!

If he were mine, he would go into a boys only run for a while to learn some manners from the older lads!

Tim
 
Hi Tim,
I don't think we could possibly put them behind wire together - I'm sure he'd kill her. I can't put him with the other boys as we've only got the one cockerel. Will he be o.k. on his own for a week or so or will he get stressed being alone? I don't want to be cruel. Trust me to get a rogue cockerel.
 
No, sorry not together - I mean wire separating them but so that they are close to one another for a while.

Long term it wouldn't be kind to keep him on his own but short term should be fine.

Tim
 
Hi Again,
The time that they have been apart recently they have been able to see eachother so we've sort of tried that. We have a very large garden and they normally just wander around it. Since the trouble after she came out of her broody state, they have always been able to see eachother - whether it was her still behind the wire or him. The hens, instead of wandering all over the garden, seem to be hanging around his run at the moment as if to be near him - or it might be that it's scorchingly hot at the moment (we're in S. of France) and that's where most of the shade is. What we're going to do, I think, is move him over to the other side of the garden where the others can't go, keep him totally on his own for a week and then let him out and see what happens. If that doesn't work I'm afraid his days are numbered. Shame but I don't know what else to do.
 
OK well do let us know how you get on. It might work. He will certainly be desperate when he comes out of isolation :lol:

Tim
 
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