Thanks guys.
I thought about boredom too, but it's outside of the coop in the massive backyard too.
What should I do?
Get another bird, is what I would do. Have had 3 heavy breed girls in a 4 x 4 coop with free range of a yard and no problem. The minimums and suggestions are just that.... guidelines. Some squeeze much tighter without issue while others will have issues regardless of space. Breed factors in as well as your maintenance schedule, weather, and individual personalities. I would get a different breed than the two you already got. Biggest issue might be finding only 1 to add. But honestly I might add 2, deal with my space issues and ditch the bully out of the bunch if still needed in the future. Life is too short to deal with mean birds when there are so many wonderful ones out there. She may be able to reform though!
Also, make a scratching/compost area for them. Some call it deep litter. Where you compost your stuff, the worms and other bugs will come and the girls will scratch for them and occupy some of their time.
Peas are actually a high protein (and to me quality) snack that will not diminish your other nutrients. Frozen is great for summer, but thawed might be best for winter. I haven't yet, but am considering either sprouting whole dried peas or using dried split peas as a scratching type treat. You might be able to make a little treat dispenser... like a water bottle with holes drilled that they have to scratch around and make it give out say, dried meal worms for example.
If your girl that is being pecked has exposed red areas, they will invite more pecking. I would use something like Blu Kote to cover them so they could heal. Did you look up peepers yet, (as a last resort to me)? This was a nice article...
https://hencam.com/faq/bare-butts-feather-loss-and-feather-picking/
And another...
https://articles.extension.org/page...nibalism-in-small-and-backyard-poultry-flocks
There are some lotions and sprays that can be used to deter the picking, but I am unsure of how well they work. And leery of ones that use "spiciness" as the means... as I am under the impression that chickens do not have capsaicin receptors.
I'm having the same problem, brought 3 new chickens into my already 4 chickens, the smallest is getting held down by the 3 large chickens, the other 2 new chickens just run for their lives. It's so bad that she won't come out of the hen house unless I go pick her up. She got trapped by them one day, I was trying to get her out and fight off the other chickens with my other hand, they were no t giving up. I have given her a cage to herself but still in the chicken coop to protect her..
Hi, welcome to BYC!
If you don't stop that from happening... you could end up with a dead chicken that's been cannibalized. When they are cornered and out numbered it can get quite brutal.
A cage in their view is a good step. Maybe out in the run if the weather is good enough. And after a long enough time (flock dependent) free ranging together possibly after waking up on roost together. I always add the newbies after dark to the roost, after the initial look but don't touch time period. And I also have a lower roost for my new integrations, it works great! At roost is when havoc breaks out and is often the most brutal time of the day here. Having plenty of space helps. As well as visual barriers and extra feeding stations. A simple stack of hay or say a bench or a log, even a children's toy... whatever you can think of that will work for you.
