Bullying

[lynnrm1]

I know a lot has been said about bullying but I still have questions. The bully in my case is at the bottom of the pecking order and she is bullying only one hen all of a sudden. The hen being bullied is 2nd in the pecking order. These hens will be 3 in June and have been flock mates since birth with no previous issues at all. They have plenty of room and nothing in how they are fed, watered or cared for has changed. There are no new hens that have been introduced .the bully has instilled terror in the one she bullies. I have separated the bully from the rest of the girls for one night now and figure tomorrow I’ll try and reintroduce her and see what happens. Is this a long enough amount of time? Any other suggestions? There are 5 or them. Even when they are free ranging the bully will attack ! Unprovoked thanks in advance.

 

[Debbie292d]

I know a lot has been said about bullying but I still have questions. The bully in my case is at the bottom of the pecking order and she is bullying only one hen all of a sudden. The hen being bullied is 2nd in the pecking order. These hens will be 3 in June and have been flock mates since birth with no previous issues at all. They have plenty of room and nothing in how they are fed, watered or cared for has changed. There are no new hens that have been introduced .the bully has instilled terror in the one she bullies. I have separated the bully from the rest of the girls for one night now and figure tomorrow I’ll try and reintroduce her and see what happens. Is this a long enough amount of time? Any other suggestions? There are 5 or them. Even when they are free ranging the bully will attack ! Unprovoked thanks in advance.

Jeez, she sure sounds like a vicious little thing. I think more than one day though, probably 2-3 more like it so they get used to being without her and she has to start over with them.

I wonder if some vitamin water might help settle something in her that's making her be so darned aggressive. I mean, it's normal for my silkie hens to all change rolls now and then so there's a few spats and fights and even chasing around the yard now and then but all of this starts and finishes within hours. It never carries on for days except for some cochin cross hen I had here. I got rid of her as she wouldn't stop picking on all the rest of them.

 

[sourland]

I would separate her from the flock for several days up to a week so that the bullied hen regains her confidence.

 

[rcm1201]

I know a lot has been said about bullying but I still have questions. The bully in my case is at the bottom of the pecking order and she is bullying only one hen all of a sudden. The hen being bullied is 2nd in the pecking order. These hens will be 3 in June and have been flock mates since birth with no previous issues at all. They have plenty of room and nothing in how they are fed, watered or cared for has changed. There are no new hens that have been introduced .the bully has instilled terror in the one she bullies. I have separated the bully from the rest of the girls for one night now and figure tomorrow I’ll try and reintroduce her and see what happens. Is this a long enough amount of time? Any other suggestions? There are 5 or them. Even when they are free ranging the bully will attack ! Unprovoked thanks in advance.

Wow I was coming to post nearly this identical thread. My 6 hens have been together for almost a year. The #2 of the pecking order all of a sudden has been extremely bullied by 1 hen and it’s so bad that she spends all day either in the coop or perched above everyone in the run. Every time she is on the ground she scampers around petrified until she finds the perch or back into the coop. This happened out of no where and I don’t have the means to separate them

 

[rosemarythyme]

Wow I was coming to post nearly this identical thread. My 6 hens have been together for almost a year. The #2 of the pecking order all of a sudden has been extremely bullied by 1 hen and it’s so bad that she spends all day either in the coop or perched above everyone in the run. Every time she is on the ground she scampers around petrified until she finds the perch or back into the coop. This happened out of no where and I don’t have the means to separate them

Pecking order constantly changes so it doesn't matter if they were fine for a year before this happened. Do the birds stay in the run the whole day? There's no clutter or anything in there to give her relief from bullying. If you can't expand the run to be able to include a lot more clutter I'd strongly consider rehoming her.

 

[sourland]

If you can't expand the run to be able to include a lot more clutter I'd strongly consider rehoming her.

I agree. Space is limited for that many birds.

 

[rcm1201]

Pecking order constantly changes so it doesn't matter if they were fine for a year before this happened. Do the birds stay in the run the whole day? There's no clutter or anything in there to give her relief from bullying. If you can't expand the run to be able to include a lot more clutter I'd strongly consider rehoming her.

what do you mean by clutter? What would you recommend?

They in the the run most of the day. I let them out when I’m working in the backyard, maybe an hour or so a day. The run is 84 sq ft- I thought that was enough space for 6 hens.

 

[rosemarythyme]

what do you mean by clutter? What would you recommend?

They in the the run most of the day. I let them out when I’m working in the backyard, maybe an hour or so a day. The run is 84 sq ft- I thought that was enough space for 6 hens.

Clutter provides hiding spots and gives birds something to do. The clutter thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/page-6#post-25037140

You see the "10 sq ft per hen" posted on here a lot, but that's a minimum - a flock of docile, fully integrated birds should be able to get along with that amount of space. In reality some birds or some flocks need more room for harmony, and that might be the case here. If free ranging is an option you could try that but by itself an hour of free ranging won't make up for confinement the rest of the day.

 

[lynnrm1]

I would separate her from the flock for several days up to a week so that the bullied hen regains her confidence.

Thanks so much. She’s been separated since Friday morning and will probably let her out tomorrow afternoon to free range with the rest, see how it goes.

 

[lynnrm1]

Jeez, she sure sounds like a vicious little thing. I think more than one day though, probably 2-3 more like it so they get used to being without her and she has to start over with them.

I wonder if some vitamin water might help settle something in her that's making her be so darned aggressive. I mean, it's normal for my silkie hens to all change rolls now and then so there's a few spats and fights and even chasing around the yard now and then but all of this starts and finishes within hours. It never carries on for days except for some cochin cross hen I had here. I got rid of her as she wouldn't stop picking on all the rest of them.

Thanks! Yes, spats were usual but quickly resolved lol this is something else entirely. She’s been separate for almost 3 days and 2 nights and I’m going to reintroduce her tomorrow. We shall see how it goes. It’s interesting because she doesn’t seem to want to move up in the pecking order eg, doesn’t try to get in the coop ahead of anyone at night or eat first etc. it’s a mystery but maybe vitamins, might be worth a try, even though they get a good chicken feed.