So you brought home a rooster to save your hens from themselves, and now your hens are treating him like a chew toy. That's not exactly the heroic rescue you imagined, is it? You wanted a feathery knight in shining armor, and instead you got a feathered punching bag being pinned in a corner while your ladies pluck souvenirs from his tail. Frankly, this is peak chicken behavior, equal parts absurd and stressful, and we're here to tell you that you're not wrong to be spooked yourself.
Let's get practical. No blood, no torn combs, no open wounds, that's your green light to breathe. Chickens are brutal jerks when establishing a pecking order, and a new rooster being chased and plucked is almost a rite of passage. Your hens are seven months old, which means they're basically teenagers with attitude, and he's only six months, so he's still learning that he's supposed to be the boss. The fact that they're pinning him but not drawing blood means they're asserting dominance, not trying to murder him. That's normal, even if it looks like a tiny, feathery hazing ritual. We'd tell you to give it a few more days before you panic-crate him.
Separating him into a dog crate *inside* the run isn't a bad backup plan, if he's genuinely terrorized and can't access food or water because he's too busy being hen-pecked. A crate lets him see them, hear them, and get used to their presence without being physically bullied. It's a time-out, not a punishment. Let him out for supervised visits, and if they still gang up on him after a week, then you might need to rethink the match. Some roosters are just not alpha material, and that's okay, your hens might prefer a more confident jerk than a timid sweetheart.
What this means for you is simple: you're not doing anything wrong. You're doing the chaotic, cluck-tastic dance of integrating a new bird, and it's messy. Don't separate him yet unless he's genuinely starving or injured. Give the little guy a chance to figure out that he's a rooster, not a target. If he never finds his crow, you'll know, and then it's time to try a different rooster or accept that your hens are the ones in charge. Either way, keep a close eye, keep a crate ready, and remember: you're not chickening out by having a backup plan. You're just being a good, worried chicken parent.