I have 4 hens (RIR, BPR, BA, and SLW). They have all been together since we got them from the hatchery, they’re a year old, and have been a good flock. At Christmas time my granddaughters were getting the eggs out of the coop and when they opened the door my daughter’s dog (a doodle) jumped in the coop. Three of them jumped into the run and the BA flew out of the coop into the yard and was chased, luckily our male German shepherd protected her until I got to her,( I wasn’t even thinking about them opening the coop door because our dogs (M&F GSD)know not to go in the coop). Anyway, the BA expelled a lot of feathers from her underneath and around her tail but she was fine. I have noticed over the past few weeks that the SLW has been bullying the BA and the RIR and pecking them. I was hoping they would work it out. Last week she brought blood to the BA and the RIR had bare spots on her chest. We immediately separated them in the run, however, I have put the SLW in the coop at night to roost and she has gone from the top of the pecking order to the bottom, so I left them all together in the run this morning to see if things were better and it didn’t take long for the SLW to start pecking again so I separated her again. Should I leave her in the run at night? It is secure and we live in a neighborhood, but we do have hawks and owls around. I’m at a loss, should I just rehome her? Any suggestions?
