I had 3 hens, 2 Speckled Sussex and 1 Colombian Wyandotte (SS & CW). They are 2 1/2 years old. SS1 went broody earlier this summer. Instead of breaking her broodiness this time, I tried an "experiment" I read about here on BYC (y'all are great you know?!?) about "grafting" chicks. I added 3 two-day old Rhode Island pullets. SS1 woke up one morning and found 3 babies under her - whammo - instant family!
SS1 has been an awesome mom. She has shown her babies how to scratch for food, drink, etc. I watched her pick up food on her beak and cluck softly to the babies and they come running to peck food off her beak. She and the babies were sequestered in the coop for about 2 weeks without the other girls allowed. Knowing they need to meet the rest of the flock, I slowly introduced the other 2 hens.
For about 2 weeks, all had been (mostly) harmonious in chickenland... SS2,my alpha hen, had been seen chasing the babies away from treats - keeping the pecking order. I grabbed her and held her to the ground, essentially pinning her, to let her know I'm the boss and that her behavior was unacceptable. Once I saw her grab a baby by the wing and fling it. Didn't know they could be so brutal. Kept an eye on the situation, pinning her more than once. The babies learned to avoid her.
When the babies were about 4 weeks old, I went out in the afternoon to check on them and found one of the baby girls had been attacked viciously. All the neck and shoulder feathers had been plucked bare - past the skin and to the flesh. I was horrified! I immediately removed her from the flock and into a dog carrier. She lived in my care in the dog carrier for two days until my DH and I could build her a nice hospital pen. We put the hospital pen right next to the chicken run where her "family" was and she lived there for 2 weeks until her wounds were mostly healed. I wanted to get her back in with her sisters and mama asap.
In more reading on BYC (love you guys!) I read that it's best to remove the bully chicken to change her behavior. I decided to reverse their situations. Baby RIR went back in with the flock, and bully SS2 went in lockdown. I kept SS2 there for about a week. She was a bit stressed and not laying, but otherwise fine.
Baby RIR rejoined the flock with no problems. CW has been an awesome step-mom/co-parent to the babies. The babies have been roosting at night with their two mommies. I thought SS2 would be ready to reintroduce to the flock since her "shunning".
The babies - currently 7 weeks old - are still terrified of her. The run "screaming" when she's near. She still chases them. Her attitude doesn't seem to have changed one bit. The mama hens don't do much to protect the teenagers. They've all got plenty of space to run. I left SS2 in for one night. Upon checking on them after dark, I found all the teenagers were sleeping on the opposite end of the coop in the nest boxes. They're too afraid to get near her on the roosts. The following morning, yesterday, I removed SS2 back to the shunning box.
I do not know what to do. Do I just need to keep her away longer? Will she change her tune? Do I need to let the teenagers get a bit bigger and more confident? The other girls - SS1 and CW - are so sweet to the RIR's. It's just the one SS. Any and all suggestions are welcome!
SS1 has been an awesome mom. She has shown her babies how to scratch for food, drink, etc. I watched her pick up food on her beak and cluck softly to the babies and they come running to peck food off her beak. She and the babies were sequestered in the coop for about 2 weeks without the other girls allowed. Knowing they need to meet the rest of the flock, I slowly introduced the other 2 hens.
For about 2 weeks, all had been (mostly) harmonious in chickenland... SS2,my alpha hen, had been seen chasing the babies away from treats - keeping the pecking order. I grabbed her and held her to the ground, essentially pinning her, to let her know I'm the boss and that her behavior was unacceptable. Once I saw her grab a baby by the wing and fling it. Didn't know they could be so brutal. Kept an eye on the situation, pinning her more than once. The babies learned to avoid her.
When the babies were about 4 weeks old, I went out in the afternoon to check on them and found one of the baby girls had been attacked viciously. All the neck and shoulder feathers had been plucked bare - past the skin and to the flesh. I was horrified! I immediately removed her from the flock and into a dog carrier. She lived in my care in the dog carrier for two days until my DH and I could build her a nice hospital pen. We put the hospital pen right next to the chicken run where her "family" was and she lived there for 2 weeks until her wounds were mostly healed. I wanted to get her back in with her sisters and mama asap.
In more reading on BYC (love you guys!) I read that it's best to remove the bully chicken to change her behavior. I decided to reverse their situations. Baby RIR went back in with the flock, and bully SS2 went in lockdown. I kept SS2 there for about a week. She was a bit stressed and not laying, but otherwise fine.
Baby RIR rejoined the flock with no problems. CW has been an awesome step-mom/co-parent to the babies. The babies have been roosting at night with their two mommies. I thought SS2 would be ready to reintroduce to the flock since her "shunning".
The babies - currently 7 weeks old - are still terrified of her. The run "screaming" when she's near. She still chases them. Her attitude doesn't seem to have changed one bit. The mama hens don't do much to protect the teenagers. They've all got plenty of space to run. I left SS2 in for one night. Upon checking on them after dark, I found all the teenagers were sleeping on the opposite end of the coop in the nest boxes. They're too afraid to get near her on the roosts. The following morning, yesterday, I removed SS2 back to the shunning box.
I do not know what to do. Do I just need to keep her away longer? Will she change her tune? Do I need to let the teenagers get a bit bigger and more confident? The other girls - SS1 and CW - are so sweet to the RIR's. It's just the one SS. Any and all suggestions are welcome!
