Adult bullying

[KristyB]

I have 8 EE adult hens that were hatched and raised together and are about a year old. Today, I woke up to one of my hens being bullied. This has never been an issue before. There are no visible signs of injury or illness. She is otherwise acting just fine. But, two other females keep targeting her. Should I let it go and watch for a bit? Or should I immediately separate her? How can I find out why she’s suddenly being bullied?

 

[azygous]

This is a complicated issue. Bullying can be a temporary thing or it can escalate with the victim becoming withdrawn and losing weight. It's not always easy to see why a chicken is being bullied, but you can easily see that she is becoming a victim. It's important you do something about it when you see she's no longer inclined to stand up for herself.

Here's my article on how to intervene with a bullying victim. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/chicken-bully-chicken-victim-a-two-sided-issue.73923/

 

[KristyB]

Thank you. I’ll keep an eye on her and see how she’s doing. If it doesn’t improve, I’ll have to isolate her for a bit.