Advice for helping a target of bullying

[olivigus]

I've rarely seen any bullying in my flock. I have 20 total right now and they have a very large run they go out in every day. I noticed that Happy, one of my black australorps has been staying in the coop most of the day. I've realized it's because when she goes outside, she is being ganged up on and attacked by a small group of the others. The strange part is that it's Happy's old group. I still have the 4 barred rocks and 2 australorps from my original flock. They turned 5 this spring and have always liked to hang out together. Now, for some reason they've all turned on Happy. I took her out to the food the other day and stood there to keep an eye out and she ate because she's hungry. but when she headed back to the coop they ambushed her and started pecking at her. Any ideas about how I can reintegrate her and stop this behavior? I've been feeding her inside the coop when the others are busy with their morning mash, but she can't just spend the rest of her life on a perch indoors. What can I do?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Photos of set up? Numbers would be good too (length and width of run) but really would like to see what the run itself looks like.

Also has she been showing any sign of health issues or changes, like a recent molt, was recently broody, etc?

 

[olivigus]

I'll take a pic tomorrow. Run is about 25 x 25. Her comb color is good, tail is up and she's interested in food. She's never gone broody. The only thing I've noticed is her being more subdued and staying inside the coop during the day. No recent molting, everyone's feathered out again since the fall. I did notice that she'd lost some feathers from the top of her head and thought that her white skin standing out from the black feathers might be causing others to want to peck at her. Her skin wasn't sore or broken, so I tried coloring it in with a black sharpie to get rid of the white spots. It seemed to help a bit, but not entirely. Now I think it's becoming self-perpetuating because she's not out mixing with everyone, so she's becoming less and less a familiar member of the flock.

 

[olivigus]

Here's a few pics of run and one inside the coop (with Happy self-isolating!) I do have a corner that's about 6 x 6 that can be separately fenced off with access to a small coop that I've used when I've had a broody foster chicks. I put Happy in there today with her own food and water. Maybe they have to get used to seeing her again? I was also thinking I might grab one of the younger hens near the bottom of the pecking order and put her in with Happy for company. (Sorry the pics are dark. It's raining here today.)

 

[rosemarythyme]

Nice set up. Since you have the separate enclosure, you could try this... lemme see if I can find the article here... https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/chicken-bully-chicken-victim-a-two-sided-issue.73923/

 

[olivigus]

Nice set up. Since you have the separate enclosure, you could try this... lemme see if I can find the article here... https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/chicken-bully-chicken-victim-a-two-sided-issue.73923/

Thanks! That's very helpful. I will try giving Happy the corner run for a while. She sounds much like the chicken in that post, who used to be "in" and confident but somehow wound up on the receiving end. She has definitely lost her former swagger. We'll see if we can get it back! Appreciate the advice!