Adult hen fighting

[stevehaynie13]

We have four free range hens that sleep in a locked coup each night. Two of them are roughly 2 years old, and two are about 1 year. They have all lived together for a year in relative peace. Over the last few weeks, one the older ones (leghorn) is getting pecked on the back of the neck and vents. She has been bloody quite a few times. We isolated her for a couple days to let her recoup and as soon as we let her back in the coop, the attacks started again???

 

[sourland]

Have they been penned up recently because of bad weather? Sometimes out of boredom they will start fighting and feather pecking - in its extreme it can lead to cannibalism. A possible solution might be to fit the aggressors with Pinless Peepers. Once things settle down -weeks or maybe even months- they can be removed and hopefully peace will once again reign. Good luck at straightening this out.

 

[Cookie McT]

Trouble is, isolation keeps the victim safe, but when she is re-introduced to the flock she is treated like a stranger again. And since chickens love anything red, they will go for blood as quickly as they wll go for berries or painted fingernails.
If one of the hens is a bully who instigates the attacks, that would be the one to isolate for a while. (Three days usually does it.) She loses her status in the pecking order, and becomes just one of the gang (after receiving her initiation pecks back into the family.)