What to do with outcast chicken?

[citychknraising]

I have a blue cochin that, despite being timid and sweet, gets beat up CONSTANTLY by 2 other hens in the flock (I only have a flock of 5, one of the other hens is a chick that the cochin hatched). I separated her and the chick (who was an egg when I separated them) to save her from getting beat up while she was sitting on the nest. When I say she was getting beat up - I mean the 2 hens were jumping on her every time they caught sight of her and ripping her feathers out. I tried to let it play out, thought maybe if they beat her up a couple times to fight for top-dog position then it would stop. It didn't, so I separated them. The two runs are right next to eachother, only separated by chicken wire so she and the chick could essentially stay part of the flock while separated.

The chick is big enough to be in the run with the other chickens but when I try to put the cochin and chick with the other girls, they go after the cochin over and over.

Also, probably good to note - The 4 older hens (including the cochin) all grew from chicks together, so I don't understand why they are so hostile to one chicken.

So my question is - Is there anything else I can try? Am I doing something wrong? OR, is it just time to find a new home for my cochin?

 

[N F C]

You don't say what other breeds you have (the ones doing the smack down on your Cochin) but your story reminds me of a similar situation we had.

We built a separate little coop and run for our girl that was getting pecked on badly...she had been injured and was never accepted back into the flock after healing. The worst offenders were 2 Black Australorps...they were re-homed. The separate lodging worked well for our outcast, she was next to the others but separated by fencing.

Best of luck to you, it's not easy to watch I know.

 

[citychknraising]

Thanks NFC. My flock contains the blue cochin, a speckled sussex, and 2 easter eggers. I'm not sure what the chick is. The offenders are the speckled sussex and 1 of the easter eggers. Is there a reason you rehomed the bullies instead of your bullied chicken? Did your bullied chicken stay separated indefinitely? Was she alone?

 

[N F C]

Thanks NFC. My flock contains the blue cochin, a speckled sussex, and 2 easter eggers. I'm not sure what the chick is. The offenders are the speckled sussex and 1 of the easter eggers. Is there are reason you rehomed the bullies instead of your bullied chicken? Did your bullied chicken stay separated indefinitely? Was she alone?

The BA's we had were some of the meanest chickens I've ever seen...they went after every bird in my flock every day. Once I found a new home for them, the flock was a lot more settled.

Our little outcast was kept separate for the rest of her time. Once she recuperated from her injury, she was left with a permanent limp which made her a target. The BA's were the worst offenders but all the others took their turns beating her up too. I tried to integrate her several times but it never worked out well for her so to avoid further injury, she had her own quarters. She didn't really feel alone though as far as I could tell because she was right next to the flock (but separated by wire). Also, she was DH's favorite and he spent a lot of time spoiling her.

 

[sawilliams]

Often times a bully hen will resort to finding another to bully when the bullied is removed. It unfortunately cuases almost a cycle where the flock will never fully settle untill the bully is removed. That's why most ssy to remove the bully. In some cases a second bully can be a coop cat and will settle once the bully is removed but that isn't always the case either a the serving bully can continue where the first left off.

If your content keeping then seperate see if one of the other 2 clam ones will integrate with her and you could have 2 and 3. Or try to she how she does with the 2 clam ones and remove the 2 bullies to the second home. Once she is integrated you can try reintroducing the second bully back to the flock and then possibly the head bully but you need to do so at times you can watch then closely and possibly remove one again before injury happens. Some times a bully time out will give the flock a chance to restructure the pecking order so when the bully comes back she is at the bottom and less likely to offend but that's not a given either

 

[JedJackson]

Lack of enough space and stress are two of the biggest reasons behind this sort of aggression. If it's not those two things then you can either keep the hen & chick in the separate space or rehome them. From the way things sound I wouldn't expect the main flock to accept the chick or any other new bird.

 

[citychknraising]

Thanks for your replies. Not what I wanted to hear but I'll just have to make some hard decisions if I want to keep a single flock. One of the bullies (the worse of the two) is my favorite hen, she comes and hangs out near me when I'm outside. I'm going to try @sawilliams advice and try to swap the chickens in and out to see who will and who won't get along. I am moving in the next month or so, so I might try to hang on to everyone until then (I'll be able to build a bigger run when I move). Thinking a rooster would solve this problem, but I don't think my neighbors would like that so much....

 

[ChiefSuperFly]

What if you put the bully alone where the Cochin is and move the Cochin into the flock? Maybe even move the waster egger too?

 

[citychknraising]

@ChiefSuperFly I could, but I would rather have them all in a single flock.

 

[RedDrgn]

I'd try a slow introduction. I don't know what your coop/run/range looks like, but putting the cochin and chick in a large crate or portable fenced in area that the rest of the hens cannot get through so that everyone can see each other, but can't do harm, would allow some safe introduction into the flock for a week or so. From there, some short periods of supervised ranging time together to see how they do and then gradually allow them together more and more and for longer periods. Don't rush it, and the pecking order will still need to be established over time (but shouldn't be persistent, repeated beatings).

Make sure your flock has enough room, too. Confining them too too small of an area can ruffle even peaceful birds' feathers.