Bullying?

I have a hen who is definitely a little smaller than the others in my flock that most of the other chickens bully her. They do it in the coop or in the run. She will barely even go out of coop into the run when the others are out there and when she does she gets attacked by 3-4 others. All of them are around the same age 1-2 years old. I have 12 hens and one rooster and non of them seem to get along with her and bully her. Just looking for help as to why this may be and what I can do about it. Thanks

Hi there, have you seen this thread? https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/288038/separate-the-bully-or-the-bullied

Unfortunately there's always a bottom hen, it is the nature of the chickens social structure, the best way of dealing with it is to provide places to get up on or go under or even get into so the bottom hen can get out of the way, she's hiding because she has no where she feels safe, and it's best not to crowd chickens so everyone can get away from each other. My bottom hen will often sit in the donkeys hay trough to stay out of the way, if the bottom bird can't simply slip somewhere out of the way it will get pecked for not moving.

How much space(feet by feet) do you have in coop and run?

Are they just quick pecks and chase or are they pinning her down and beating on her?

Are they keeping her away from the food and water?

Are your birds all the same breed? Sometimes a chicken that looks different will get picked on (for example, a flock of RIR and 1 Polish).

My coop size is 16x18 with a run of 20x40. They will chase her down and 3-4 will pin her down. The roo sill sometimes get involved and try to mate her. As far as types of breeds I have 4 red sex links, 2 black sex links, 3 Rhode Island reds, and 3 Plymouth rocks. The one being picked on is a Rhode Island. My roo is also a RIR

jbrn03 said:

My coop size is 16x18 with a run of 20x40. They will chase her down and 3-4 will pin her down. The roo sill sometimes get involved and try to mate her. As far as types of breeds I have 4 red sex links, 2 black sex links, 3 Rhode Island reds, and 3 Plymouth rocks. The one being picked on is a Rhode Island. My roo is also a RIR

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Lots of space...did they all grow up together?
Is it a new behavior or been going on for a long time?
Are any of them molting?
Is the picked on one laying?

The 3 RIR and 3 Plymouth Rocks were introduced about 2 months ago with little to no problems initially and 2 of the rocks are molting on there bottom but no where else. As far as laying I'm not sure I haven't seen her in the nesting boxes. I have 12 boxes and multiple chickens use same boxes. Only 5 or 6 being used. Average 8-10 eggs/day

jbrn03 said:

My coop size is 16x18 with a run of 20x40. They will chase her down and 3-4 will pin her down. The roo sill sometimes get involved and try to mate her. As far as types of breeds I have 4 red sex links, 2 black sex links, 3 Rhode Island reds, and 3 Plymouth rocks. The one being picked on is a Rhode Island. My roo is also a RIR

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That's not a good life of running to get away from a mob of bullies every day, and getting caught. She needs more room to get away.

jbrn03 said:

The 3 RIR and 3 Plymouth Rocks were introduced about 2 months ago with little to no problems initially and 2 of the rocks are molting on there bottom but no where else. As far as laying I'm not sure I haven't seen her in the nesting boxes. I have 12 boxes and multiple chickens use same boxes. Only 5 or 6 being used. Average 8-10 eggs/day

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You might think about partitioning off an area in the coop for the harassed bird, let her get a break for a few days, then adding one of the 'not-mean' other birds.
If they get along for a few days, add another 'not-mean' bird. Rinse and repeat. Once you have two stable groups add them all back together.
This can give the beaten bird time to recover and bond with a few other birds...can change the pecking order.
Just an idea.

JanetMarie said:

Quote: That's a ton of room for a dozen birds.

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