I have five hens who - for the most part - get along nicely.
There is one hen, a black Aus, who has always been a bit of a bully. She has worked her way up to #2 in the pecking order and picks at everyone but #1. I have had to separate her once and hobble her a few times to keep her from picking, specifically on the runt of the bunch, occasionally she gets downright mean and will spend her day chasing other hens for no apparent reason. I hobble her for a day or two and she calms down.
Our number one (victoria) is a very gracious leader, she is not aggressive and will watch out for all the girls, especially the runt. perhaps she is just the boss because she is the biggest?
Today, while they were out free ranging, I noticed the bully fluffing up and going after Victoria. She was puffing her neck feathers up and grabbing Victoria by the comb and pulling her around. Victoria didn't really seem to be defending herself, she would just pull loose, run away and then once she was separated, flap her wings around.
The other hens seemed very curious about all this activity and would follow the two of them around with their necks craned. Once, the runt even ran up beside Victoria after she got lose and seemed to try to escort her off into the bushes. the bully would aggressively chase after victoria, it wasn't like she was just going after her when she was close.
Any thoughts as to if I should let this work itself out? Or should I separate/hobble the bully again? It would seem perhaps Wilma (#2 aka bully) is finally trying to jockey for lead in the pecking order. I wonder, if she was #1, would she would calm down or get worse? Hmmm.
Anyway... any experience in this field is appreciated! I don't know if I should let this go or stop it.
Thank you!
There is one hen, a black Aus, who has always been a bit of a bully. She has worked her way up to #2 in the pecking order and picks at everyone but #1. I have had to separate her once and hobble her a few times to keep her from picking, specifically on the runt of the bunch, occasionally she gets downright mean and will spend her day chasing other hens for no apparent reason. I hobble her for a day or two and she calms down.
Our number one (victoria) is a very gracious leader, she is not aggressive and will watch out for all the girls, especially the runt. perhaps she is just the boss because she is the biggest?
Today, while they were out free ranging, I noticed the bully fluffing up and going after Victoria. She was puffing her neck feathers up and grabbing Victoria by the comb and pulling her around. Victoria didn't really seem to be defending herself, she would just pull loose, run away and then once she was separated, flap her wings around.
The other hens seemed very curious about all this activity and would follow the two of them around with their necks craned. Once, the runt even ran up beside Victoria after she got lose and seemed to try to escort her off into the bushes. the bully would aggressively chase after victoria, it wasn't like she was just going after her when she was close.
Any thoughts as to if I should let this work itself out? Or should I separate/hobble the bully again? It would seem perhaps Wilma (#2 aka bully) is finally trying to jockey for lead in the pecking order. I wonder, if she was #1, would she would calm down or get worse? Hmmm.
Anyway... any experience in this field is appreciated! I don't know if I should let this go or stop it.
Thank you!
