3 Hens against 1

[TLO8316]

Hi everyone,

I was hoping for some advice on re-introducing a chicken back into the flock (4 chickens in all). One night in the coop "Gertie" my Speckled Sussex was attacked and half of her feathers were plucked out. I immediately separated her and applied the appropriate medication to her areas that were bleeding. It's been 3 weeks now and her feathers have grown back remarkably quick. I tried to reintroduce her to the flock but the other 3 went after her again. She also will not go back into the coop at night. I can't say I blame her. So I keep her separated in the run so they can see her but can't get to her. At night I have her in a secure space in my shed with a heat lamp for her to stay warm. Any suggestions on how to reintroduce her back into the flock without being injured? And why the others would attack her like that in the first place?
I have been doing a lot of reading and have learned that boredom could play a part. I have my four girls in a 100 sq. ft. run. I will be having my backyard fenced in the spring but they have to stay put where they are for the winter. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

 

[JedJackson]

Hmmm, to me it's surprising that the three would attack the one so viciously to begin with. You posted a picture of their coop and run in the new member introduction thread, and it appears they have plenty of room, so I am not sure why it happened, presuming the four were raised together or at least have been together for a long while. Do they get plenty of feed and water? If they don't have feed available all the time, then this can cause fighting. Or, if the Sussex was injured before the attack, then it might make sense, too, because hens will pick on injured flock mates. I just think it would be good to pinpoint why it happened, if possible, so it doesn't happen again.

Now, as to treatment of the Sussex, you have done all the right things. You've treated her injuries, and you've kept her safe but visible in the run with her flock mates. After a few days of this, you should try reintroducing the Sussex. There is bound to be some fighting and pecking from the other girls, but if it gets really bad (blood drawn, all of them ganging up on the one) then re-cage the Sussex and try again in the future. If all else fails, you may have to re-home her or build her her own area, separate from the rest. But hopefully that won't be necessary. Good luck!

 

[Mrs. K]

Instead of trying to introduce her to 3 birds, try and introduce her to one of the three. They will probably be skirmishes, and posturing, but it will be one on one, not 3 against one.

If you can, do it in your main set up, so pick two of the three, that get along, and put them in the crate and later on the shed. With two of them, they should not need a heat lamp. This will allow the victim and one friend to use the coop and run, leave them in this situation for a couple of weeks... maybe two. Each group seeing each other during the day, but separated, and apart at night. Then introduce the pair to the pair.

Then take a good look at your run, not only is it space, but how is the space set up. Can a chicken see every other chicken in the run all all times. So many times I see runs that are just bare rectangles. If so, you need to clutter it up. I have two pallets leaned against the wall in two different spots, with a feed bowl behind one. I have another pallet up on cement blocks, so as chickens can get under or on top of the pallet. I have roosts stuck in the corners, and a box, that acts like a mini wall on one side, and a wind protective shelter on the other. This makes use of the third dimension of space, the vertical dimension. Often times, the birds will have more space with more clutter. It keeps it much more interesting for birds.

This clutter allows birds to get out of sight of each other. When two birds meet, one is above, and one is below in stature. If the low one can give way, and get out of sight, the chase is over. If the bird cannot get out of sight, often times that heightens the attack.

Good luck,
Mrs K

 

[aart]

You posted a picture of their coop and run in the new member introduction thread, and it appears they have plenty of room

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/introduction.1285406/#post-20786279
That coop is pretty tight for 4 birds, could be is part of the problem.

Birds can become 'strangers' pretty quick, and is why the 3 attacked the returning bird.
Basically you're doing a single bird integration, one of the toughest 'additions'.

@Mrs. K has offered some good 'Chicken Juggling' advice.

This might help too:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/introducing-a-single-hen-to-an-existing-flock.71997/

As might this....
Integration Basics:
It's all about territory and resources(space/food/water).
Existing birds will almost always attack new ones to defend their resources.
Understanding chicken behaviors is essential to integrating new birds into your flock.

Confine new birds within sight but physically segregated from older/existing birds for several weeks, so they can see and get used to each other but not physically interact.

In adjacent runs, spread scratch grains along the dividing mesh, best if mesh is just big enough for birds to stick their head thru, so they get used to eating together.

The more space, the better. Birds will peck to establish dominance, the pecked bird needs space to get away. As long as there's no copious blood drawn and/or new bird is not trapped/pinned down and beaten unmercilessly, let them work it out. Every time you interfere or remove new birds, they'll have to start the pecking order thing all over again.

Multiple feed/water stations. Dominance issues are most often carried out over sustenance, more stations lessens the frequency of that issue.

Places for the new birds to hide 'out of line of sight'(but not a dead end trap) and/or up and away from any bully birds. Roosts, pallets or boards leaned up against walls or up on concrete blocks, old chairs tables, branches, logs, stumps out in the run can really help. Lots of diversion and places to 'hide' instead of bare wide open run.

 

[Biddybot]

Only advice I can offer in addition to the good stuff already posted is maybe try briefly segregating the boss hen and trying the Sussex in with the two more subordinate hens to see whether everybody hates the poor Sussex or whether it's more of a ringleader (the boss hen) leading and whipping up the level of aggression on her own. Sometimes one bird will just get a hate-on for another...a genuine personality clash. If it turns out that it's your boss hen leading the aggression and that the other two are actually okay with accepting the Sussex back, try keeping the boss hen segregated for a few days while the Sussex makes friends again. It sometimes simmers things down to a more acceptable hen-pecking level once you do return the boss hen...sometimes...

 

[meekasmom]

Try putting her back at night. Place her on the roost when the others are in after dark, and in the morning the others won't notice her as readily as when she was just put in with them in the run. Some one told me to do this and it worked.

 

[TLO8316]

Hmmm, to me it's surprising that the three would attack the one so viciously to begin with. You posted a picture of their coop and run in the new member introduction thread, and it appears they have plenty of room, so I am not sure why it happened, presuming the four were raised together or at least have been together for a long while. Do they get plenty of feed and water? If they don't have feed available all the time, then this can cause fighting. Or, if the Sussex was injured before the attack, then it might make sense, too, because hens will pick on injured flock mates. I just think it would be good to pinpoint why it happened, if possible, so it doesn't happen again.

Now, as to treatment of the Sussex, you have done all the right things. You've treated her injuries, and you've kept her safe but visible in the run with her flock mates. After a few days of this, you should try reintroducing the Sussex. There is bound to be some fighting and pecking from the other girls, but if it gets really bad (blood drawn, all of them ganging up on the one) then re-cage the Sussex and try again in the future. If all else fails, you may have to re-home her or build her her own area, separate from the rest. But hopefully that won't be necessary. Good luck!

Thank you for your reply. Yes it is very puzzling to me why they would attack her. I did reintroduce her back into the run area yesterday and kept a close eye on things. Some minor pecking but all in all things went well. Unfortunately she would not go into the coop at dark, which is where the attack happened. On the night of the attack she went into the coop fully feathered and came half plucked. So she is rightly afraid to go back in. I have a separate shelter in my shed so I just move her there at night.
They have been together since they were 2 days old and always have plenty of high quality food and their water is changed daily. They are pets to me and the eggs are just a bonus so I take very good care of them. My only thought is that maybe they need a bigger coop? Or that I was feeding them to many treats. I have cut back on the treats and only allow vegetables and their food. I did buy them some night crawlers at Walmart for a high protein treat. I am keeping my fingers crossed that she eventually is brave enough to go back into the coop. Thank you.

 

[TLO8316]

Instead of trying to introduce her to 3 birds, try and introduce her to one of the three. They will probably be skirmishes, and posturing, but it will be one on one, not 3 against one.

If you can, do it in your main set up, so pick two of the three, that get along, and put them in the crate and later on the shed. With two of them, they should not need a heat lamp. This will allow the victim and one friend to use the coop and run, leave them in this situation for a couple of weeks... maybe two. Each group seeing each other during the day, but separated, and apart at night. Then introduce the pair to the pair.

Then take a good look at your run, not only is it space, but how is the space set up. Can a chicken see every other chicken in the run all all times. So many times I see runs that are just bare rectangles. If so, you need to clutter it up. I have two pallets leaned against the wall in two different spots, with a feed bowl behind one. I have another pallet up on cement blocks, so as chickens can get under or on top of the pallet. I have roosts stuck in the corners, and a box, that acts like a mini wall on one side, and a wind protective shelter on the other. This makes use of the third dimension of space, the vertical dimension. Often times, the birds will have more space with more clutter. It keeps it much more interesting for birds.

This clutter allows birds to get out of sight of each other. When two birds meet, one is above, and one is below in stature. If the low one can give way, and get out of sight, the chase is over. If the bird cannot get out of sight, often times that heightens the attack.

Good luck,
Mrs K

Thank you that is some good advice. I am always trying to think of ways to make there run area more interesting. I will try some of your suggestions.

 

[TLO8316]

Try putting her back at night. Place her on the roost when the others are in after dark, and in the morning the others won't notice her as readily as when she was just put in with them in the run. Some one told me to do this and it worked.

Haha that is funny because that is what I did this morning. I put her in the run area first thing before I opened up their coop and all went well. I have my fingers crossed that things will continue to progress in a good way. Thank you.