# Rooster over mating with one hen



## rosem123 (Oct 18, 2012)

Can't figure out why, but my rooster who is in a pen with 8 hens is very good with all of them except one. She is scared of him and hides in the nest box. As soon as he sees her come out he goes after her to mate. She is so scared that she submits right away and will stay down in position even after he has unmounted her. I watched him yesterday and he mounted her 5 x in a row before she got the nerve to get up and run back into the nest box. I felt bad for her and was thinking I should remove her to a small cage by herself. Then I rethought that because it will isolate her and I don't want to have to bring her back to the pen and have the same issue. 
Anyone have an idea what I can do and why this would be happening? I suspect he is dominating her because she was the top hen is a pen of 5 hens with no rooster. I just blended the 5 hens in with the Rooster and his 3 hens. He is not that persistan with any of the other hens. In fact he is quite the gentlemen.


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## KSALguy (Feb 14, 2006)

she is the weakest link, it happens, not sure why but it can be seen in all kinds of bird and animal groups even in humans, what I would do if you can is let her run the yard by her self, outside the pen free range while the rest of the flock is locked up in the pen, let her get herself in a better head space if that makes sense, she should recover and go about her chicken business in the yard and still socialize through the fence, he just cant perpetually mount her and keep her scared, after a few weeks of living like that she should be fine, 

or you can sell her and be done with it


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## secuono (Sep 28, 2011)

My two go after the brown hens like crazy. Some hens will beat the snot out of the roos, so they avoid them, rest are in between. 
Is she a different color, size, shape?
I'd get rid of the rooster if you have no need for him.


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## Fire-Man (Apr 30, 2005)

rosem123 said:


> Can't figure out why, but my rooster who is in a pen with 8 hens is very good with all of them except one. She is scared of him and hides in the nest box. As soon as he sees her come out he goes after her to mate. She is so scared that she submits right away and will stay down in position even after he has unmounted her. I watched him yesterday and he mounted her 5 x in a row before she got the nerve to get up and run back into the nest box. I felt bad for her and was thinking I should remove her to a small cage by herself. Then I rethought that because it will isolate her and I don't want to have to bring her back to the pen and have the same issue.
> Anyone have an idea what I can do and why this would be happening? I suspect he is dominating her because she was the top hen is a pen of 5 hens with no rooster. I just blended the 5 hens in with the Rooster and his 3 hens. He is not that persistan with any of the other hens. In fact he is quite the gentlemen.


Check the hen----under her wings to make sure she is not cut. I have had 2 hens that was doing this same thing at different times and both of them had bad cuts---you could not see the cuts till I moved the wing some. I had to treat the cut and put them in a cage till they healed.


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## kudzuvine (Aug 11, 2011)

you might put one of those saddles on her back - that will protect her an d might detour him to another hen. Have 10 hens and just incubated 30 eggs, only about half were fertile. My younger hens out run him


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## rosem123 (Oct 18, 2012)

I put her in with my Cochins. The Cochin Rooster is non aggresive to her. She is being her old self again, made it up the pecking order to 3 rd hen in the pen. Now if I could get the Cochins to accept a young roo life would be so much easier.


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## Dazlin (Nov 26, 2007)

The roosters will sometimes pick out 1 hen that's quite submissive..easy catch.


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## Jennifer L. (May 10, 2002)

I agree with putting a saddle on her. That's going to allow her to keep her feathers and will give her protection from his toenails, and that might be enough for her to get over it. It might also change the rooster's perception of her so he leaves her alone for awhile.


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