Little Red Hen bullied mercilessly, PLEASE HELP.

[andham]

We got rid of an aggressive rooster and replaced him with a 1.5 year old red star hen three days ago. We have six hens (counting her) in a chicken tractor. The run is 8x4. We have two Leghorns, Two BR's, one EE and the new Red Star. The chickens are let out to forage in the evenings. The flock was hatched in February and this is their first laying season.

The new RS is the sweetest chicken. She lays big brown eggs and eats out of my hand. The other chickens, especially the BR's will not stand to let her down out of the coop into the run. They chase her and she screams and runs. She is not bloodied, but her feathers are all over and she is looking a little ragged.

I have noticed that when I let the chickens out in the late afternoon she comes down and drinks and drinks. She knows how to use the nipple feeder, but I do not think the other hens are giving her enough time there.

I have started leaving her in the tractor when I let the others out and then I close the door. Tonight I gave her a boiled egg and some time by herself with a dish of water. When I let her out she seems to prefer to be with me rather than the chickens.

Is this going to settle down and will she become an accepted part of the flock? Is there something I should do to help her out. I want to keep her. She is a great layer.

 

[BoiseChik]

I'm so sorry to hear this. It is notoriously hard to introduce a single new chicken to an established group. If you have one particular 'meanie' you can try separating that chicken for a few days and let the pecking order resort. Or you could try having the red hen in your tractor alone and one by one reintroduce the others. I have also heard that some people try to discourage bad behavior by squirting the chicken with a water bottle. I also tried to introduce a loan chicken into my group of 6 and it was terrible. They were very aggressive to the newbie, and these were chicks! The older group was 10 weeks and the younger one was 4 weeks. So I separated the ages, and added more 4 week old chicks. Now I have to separate groups, they free range together, but do not share the coop at night yet. The older ones will still peck the younger ones. Best of luck!

 

[andham]

Thank you.