Aggressive Hen Problem...

[JC033086]

We are new to raising chickens and have a flock of 11 pullets that we raised from chicks this spring. They got along quite well - some pecking but nothing serious - until last week when we experienced a blizzard here in the Northeast US. The girls were stuck in their coop for over 48 hours with the severe cold, wind and snow. Since that time, Rosie, the queen of the flock, has been very hostile, pecking at other chicken who comes near her. Several of the girls' tails are sparse and they have some bare spots at the base of their tails and rear ends. I put a prepatation on them that I got at our local Agway (Rooster Booster) and that seems to have helped some but I am afraid that I will have real injuries, like a missing eye soon if this doesn't stop. In despiration, we removed Rosie from the flock, put her in a dog kennel in our garage for the time being. I don't think they are too crowded - their coop is 8' x 8' plus access during the day to a fenced in 10' x 12' yard for the 11 of them and to this point, things have been going well. The rest of the girls are getting with few difficulties.

Any suggestions? Rosie is really one of my favorites and is friendly to us BIGGER two legged folk.

Cindy

 

[wood&feathers]

Will the kennel fit back in your coop or run? You don't really want her totally separated from the flock, just in chicken prison until they can free range again right?

 

[JC033086]

The kennel can fit in the coop and we tried that this past weekend. She seemed much more upset being isolated within the coop. I read somewhere (I think on BYC) that if they are removed from the flock for a week or two and then reintroduced they come back farther down the pecking order. That's what I am hoping for. She was isolated for Friday and Saturday and was back pecking at her "sisters" within 5 seconds (literally) of being let out. As far as I can tell, they are doing nothing to annoy her other than breathe!!

 

[4-H chicken mom]

and

from Ohio. It sounds like boredom. You could try hanging an onion sack filled with some treats like chopped lettuce, apples, peas or anything else they like. Sometimes if they have something to peck at, they will leave one another along. Good luck.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Flock blocks are great for confined chickens. They aren't that high in protein though, so you don't want them on a steady diet of them only.

 

[Muscovies]

from North Carolina

 

[S&N Livestock]

from Ohio

 

[Wild Trapper]

from Ohio.

For the very reason you stated about your hen being aggressive is the very reason I will never have certain breeds of chickens again. RIR to name the main culprit in my case. Once I got rid of them the aggression ceased. Mild pecking persists in most breeds but the RIR seem to be the worst of any I've ever had.