bad behavior

[coalroadcabin]

I have one chicken who has had behavior problems from the very start. 10 minutes out of the shipping box and she grabbed another chick by the wing and drug her across the brooder - that is how she got the name Punky.

Punky loves to pull feathers out and has now pecked all of the tail feathers out of her flockmate, Lucy. I understand pecking order - Lucy is low girl on the totem pole. Punky isn't number one, there are a few other girls in the flock that won't take her bully behavior. But, Lucy and two others are constantly having feathers pulled out by Punky. I am afraid Lucy is going to get seriously hurt. Her tail isn't bleeding (yet) but it looks sore. And I'm worried about the other two girls as well.

I'm just not sure what to do here.
~Leave them alone and just let them work it out?

~Separate Punky out of the flock for a while?

~Is there something I can put on the other girls feathers to keep Punky from picking them bare?

FWIW, the problems are all with the four GL Wyandottes. The two Buff Orpingtons and the Australorp don't let Punky get by with bullying so Punky leaves them alone. Are Wyandottes prone to bad behavior? I read that they were a pretty calm breed so that's why I chose them for my little flock.

Thanks for any advice you can give

 

[sourland]

Bye Punky. Her personality is established - time to go.

 

[Noymira]

If you like Punky and want to try to reform her you can put her in time out. Use a dog crate in the coop and give her food and water, but keep her separate from the others for a couple days. Once let back out she should be on the bottom again, it may help.

She may also just be a bully and not worth keeping. Good luck!

 

[corgiscatsandchickens]

Quote:
I totally agree. Wave bye-bye to Punky

And heaven forbid she goes broody before she leaves!

 

[BooBear]

Sounds more like an individual thing. She just hatched bad is all.
Even in breeds that have good reputations you can sometimes get that 1 individual that is just a bad apple.

 

[coalroadcabin]

Thanks for the info everyone. Since I'd like to try to keep Punky, I think I'll try a time-out for a couple of days. Should I keep her where she can't see the others and they can't see her or can I just keep her in view of the others but physically separate?

 

[Judy]

As I understand it, this is most likely to work if she is separated from view and hearing for at least 3 days. But then every chicken is different. It's what makes this all so interesting

 

[remuda1]

Google "pinless peepers"