Aggressive Behavior

[flowers4me22]

Can anyone inform me what I can do about my oldest chicken being picked on by one of my younger chickens (one year old).

 

[kattabelly]

Could you post some more information about what's happening?

What does the aggressive behaviour look like, exactly? Does it only happen in certain situations? When did it start? How do these two birds fit in to the rest of your flock? How much space in your coop/run/whatever space the chickens have access to and how are they set up (pictures would probably help)?

 

[flowers4me22]

Could you post some more information about what's happening?

What does the aggressive behaviour look like, exactly? Does it only happen in certain situations? When did it start? How do these two birds fit in to the rest of your flock? How much space in your coop/run/whatever space the chickens have access to and how are they set up (pictures would probably help)?

Hi kattabelly, Our Plymouth Rock, Pepper is 7 1/2 years old and has difficulty standing and walking because of severe arthritis in two toes. Lucy our 1 1/2 australorp/leghorn, chases her at times and stands over her and pecks at her comb. This behavior started about two weeks ago. Pepper used to be the dominant of the 4 until recently and now stays near Ada (Australorp and smallest of the group) who also is chased by Lucy. The girls free range in the backyard and use their run/coop at night only. Thank you for your concern.

 

[LikeTurkeys]

Sounds like Pepper is just getting a bit older and Lucy is young and productive so pecking order is changing. I wouldn't worry about it too much as long as Pepper is still able to get away (which your coop + outdoor space looks like plenty for this). It might take a couple weeks.

But if Lucy continues being a bully to all the chickens and is drawing blood or not leaving after more than a few seconds of pecking, you might want to separate her from the flock for ~2 weeks. Doing this will restructure the pecking order and make Lucy more likely to submit when reintroduced to the others (as opposed to separating Pepper, which would probably make things worse).

 

[rosemarythyme]

That's tough, it's likely because now that Pepper has fallen from her position on top she's now an easier target due to her age and physical issues. Maybe try adding another feeder if there's only the one, but given that they have the whole yard at least it gives her more options to get away (or stay away) when needed.