4 against 1

[HenGirl805]

my 3 barred rocks have teamed up against one of my rhode island reds. the other RIR sometimes defends her and sometimes doesn't. she is also the only one molting right now and had a minor stomach problem that was resolved by me unblocking her system about a month ago. i have another flock of chickens (2 more hens) in a different coop but my RIR goes after them and plucks them. any idea how to stop her from being bullied? also how can i mix all of my hens together without the ripping out of feathers?

 

[rosemarythyme]

How long has the bullying been going on? What does your set up look like (photos and/or exact measurements)? Also what are you feeding them?

 

[HenGirl805]

I’d say this has been happening about a little over a week... but this has happened once before a month ago. our coop/run is pretty big, i am not home right now but it measure over 12x4. they eat layer feed and kitchen scraps for the most part

 

[rosemarythyme]

I’d say this has been happening about a little over a week... but this has happened once before a month ago. our coop/run is pretty big, i am not home right now but it measure over 12x4. they eat layer feed and kitchen scraps for the most part

12x4 feet? Is that just the coop or the coop and run or...? If it's just the coop, how big is the run or the yard space, if free ranging?

How much layer feed vs how much kitchen scraps, and what's the protein % in the feed. Is there any protein value in the scraps or is it just greens, bread, other stuff like that? Are they attempting to eat the feathers that are torn out?

 

[HenGirl805]

12x4 is the run i think... the coop is probably 4x6 maybe. i let them out daily or every other day for about an hour or so. they have unlimited layer feed and they just get scraps sometimes, usually veggies, bread, fruit. no they do not eat feathers. not sure protein on food, its dumor 18% crumble.

 

[rosemarythyme]

So it's a total of 5 birds in that run? It's pretty tight for the number of birds. Is there any way you can expand the run or let them free range a lot more?

 

[slordaz]

I agree with Rosmarythyme, unless you got banties that don't require as much space, and when they are out they need a place she can hide to get away from the bullies. If they can't get out more and you can't expand for her sake you might need to re-home her.

 

[aart]

she is also the only one molting right now and had a minor stomach problem that was resolved by me unblocking her system about a month ago.

What exactly was this problem and how did you fix it?
Did you remove her from the flock while she was recovering?

Pics and accurate(get out the tape measure) measurements really would help here.

 

[BjaJra826]

When I had a bullying problem I had to remove the hen at the top of the pecking order. I let her back in to soon and she mauled a chicken to death ( happened in under 20 min while I was making lunch). I had to seperate her in a cage wuthin the run for 2 months before she quit attacking others. She is now in the middle of the pecking order. The addition of roosters also reduced hen on hen aggression.