Other hens pecking my hen around the vent

[mcycle12]

I have four chickens that are around 7 months old. One of each: Buff Orpington, Rhode Island Red, Golden Buff.....and the picked on one: Barred Rock (B/R). The chicks were purchased all at the same time from a trusted source and arrived via the mail. They were raised in a brooder in my garage prior to being put out in the coop. The Barred Rock was always the biggest of them, did everything first and was considered the top of the pecking order in the brooder.

Once in the outdoor coup/pen, things changed. The B/R fell to the bottom of the pecking order. While in the brooder, she was easy to pick up and seemed to enjoy being held. She would violently resist being picked up when in the pen. In the pen, she seems to be an outsider, with the three others doing things together and her standing off away from them. The others began to lay, but the B/R did not. She has a squeaky voice, which is considerable different from the others. None of them sing the egg song.

Recently I noted that the B/R had feathers missing from around the vent. I figured it may have been a lice issue, so I used DE around the pen and coop. More feathers started going missing. Yesterday I put some Blue Coat on the area after seeing a raw, bloody spot. Within minutes the other three hens had blue beaks from pecking her. The B/R was isolated in a dog crate, much to her displeasure.

My concern is what began the behavior and how to keep it from happening again. The B/R is by far the biggest bird, but her voice is pathetic. I can't change either one of these facts, which is why I suspect she may be getting picked on. Any suggestions?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Can you post some photos of your coop/run and your birds?

 

[mcycle12]

Thanks for the reply! I don't have any recent photos, but do have a few videos. Things (other than the birds size and behavior) haven't changed much. My wife may have some recent photos/video. I'll ask her when she gets home.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Nice coop/run!
Looks like they have enough space, but you may want to try another roosting bar? Just a thought there.

Picking can be a bad behavior to break. I've not used it, but Pine Tar is reported to help deter picking, you may want to try that. Apply to her wounds too, it should have healing properties.

 

[starri33]

Don't have a clue as to why it's called Rooster Booster, but this is something you might consider to help stop them. https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...6cOncnYjYXgYHZvFUq6OMXJKN5W8UlsMaAqxaEALw_wcB

 

[mcycle12]

I had considered another roosting bar but decided not to because they only use half of the one that is already there. Sometimes toward the back, sometimes toward the front. I think Maybe I should put one up higher so that the dominate one (s) can get up higher.

 

[starri33]

I had considered another roosting bar but decided not to because they only use half of the one that is already there. Sometimes toward the back, sometimes toward the front. I think Maybe I should put one up higher so that the dominate one (s) can get up higher.

Are they pecking at her when she's on the roost bar? Watching your video, I didn't see one in the run, if they are not pecking her when she's on it at night, I don't know how much having another would help, I had one hen who's favorite past time was plucking feathers from the other hens and she'd even pluck them out of the Roo's, I increased their protein and that seems to have helped her stop. Maybe you could put another bar in the run it's self so that she's got a place to get away from them. A few meal worms as a treat will help up their protein.

 

[mcycle12]

Are they pecking at her when she's on the roost bar? Watching your video, I didn't see one in the run, if they are not pecking her when she's on it at night, I don't know how much having another would help, I had one hen who's favorite past time was plucking feathers from the other hens and she'd even pluck them out of the Roo's, I increased their protein and that seems to have helped her stop. Maybe you could put another bar in the run it's self so that she's got a place to get away from them. A few meal worms as a treat will help up their protein.

I took your advice and put a roosting bar in the run. I do give them meal worms.....it's their favorite time of the day! In fact, I put the worms up on the new roost bar today so they would "discover" it. They aren't sure of what to make of it yet. I give them Purina with 16% protein now. Next time I need a bag I'll try higher protein. Thanks!

 

[mcycle12]

My quarantine chicken is not eating or drinking. She is just sitting up on the roost bar in the dog crate all day. The only thing that seemed to help was meal worms. She did come down and eat them. I opened the garage door for a while so she could look out, but it's cold and her butt doesn't have any feathers, so I closed it. The other chickens didn't skip a beat because of the missing bird. But the confined one sure is down and dejected. Is this normal behavior?

 

[kcrandall]

Keep the hen separated until her feathers grow back then reintroduce her to your flock. When you reintroduce her do it at night so they have time to acclimate to her overnight. There may be some dust ups the next morning but they’ll sort out the pecking order. Feather picking can be a sign that they are not getting enough protein. I would suggest feeding a 20% protein feed to reduce feather picking.