Bielefelders being attacked by other flock members

[EmmaDonovan]

Is a separate set up (like separate coop with split run) a possibility?

I've been thinking about that all day. Building a second predator-proof coop is a project I'm not ready for. It's a big undertaking with the predators we have and fall is when most construction gets done so prices are at their highest.

Could we separate the Bielefelders during the day and then put everyone back together in the coop at night? Would they get attacked when they returned to the rest of the flock?

If we did that I'd move one of the eggers over with them. She's also sweet and docile and gets picked on (although not as badly). I've never seen her attack or even peck anyone. I bet she'd love to spend time with the gentle Bielefelders. That would be five in one group and eight in the other.

Another problem is squirrels. In the desert squirrels live underground and tunnel everywhere. Unfortunately, we have a huge squirrel infestation.

The temporary pen isn't squirrel proof so we can't leave any food or water in it. The food and water are further away on a brick patio that the squirrels can't tunnel up into but the hens can access (it's kind of hard to explain; squirrels make things complicated for chicken keepers here). There's no way to split the run into two sections without cutting off one group from the food and water.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Could we separate the Bielefelders during the day and then put everyone back together in the coop at night? Would they get attacked when they returned to the rest of the flock?

You could try it? Pinless peepers would be my only other suggestion at this point.

 

[EmmaDonovan]

You could try it? Pinless peepers would be my only other suggestion at this point.

Pinless peepers always remind me of a nose twitch on a horse. Not thrilled about those.

I'm trying to figure out if we have enough material to cobble together another (much smaller) temporary pen and put the five of them in there for a few hours a day.

It's after midnight now so I'll go rummaging around tomorrow, black widow spiders come out at night and they love piles of wood.

I don't think we have enough stuff to make a predator-proof pen so we'd have to stay out there with them while they were in it.

I'm wondering if I'd be able to get the hens out of their restful haven to put them back in the coop with the others. All four Bielefelders and the one egger are friendly and very easy to handle but if I were being attacked and found myself somewhere I could rest and dust bathe and eat and hang out with my friends in peace I wouldn't want to be put back with the attackers.

 

[EmmaDonovan]

I built a small pen for the Bielefelders. After morning chores I move them there and they spend the rest of the day there. At dusk I move them back with the rest of the flock.

This doesn't seem to have changed how they react to being bullied. They still lay down submissively until the bullies lose interest (or I pull the bullies off of them if I'm there).

I don't know if it's had an effect on the bullies' behavior or not. There's less bullying simply because the Bielefelders aren't around as much to be bullied.

It hasn't been a problem returning them to the main coop. No one attacks them when they return. Everyone is pretty much sleepy at that time of day.

The Bielefelders' pen isn't predator-proof against nighttime predators so I can't leave them in there. I think they'd be fine as a little flock of just themselves although I really don't want to split the group into two flocks.

For the time being at least the Bielefelders have several hours of peace every day with no one pulling out their feathers. They seem happy spending that time together. I'm hoping their bald spots will eventually fill in.

Initially I tried moving one of the EEs over with them but she absolutely freaked out. I gently set her down on the ground and she stood there for a moment then she screeched and screeched and threw herself all over the pen. She landed on one of the roosts and seemed to calm down a little so I moved in the Bielefelders, then she started up again, flinging herself all over and shrieking. Finally she lay motionless in a corner. She was the most miserable poor thing you ever saw. I picked her up and checked that she hadn't hurt herself. She seemed okay so I returned her to the flock.

She is usually very sweet and friendly and one of the first to approach me every morning. She very obviously didn't want to be in there so I never tried it again. I built the pen close to the run so they can see and hear the other chickens and wouldn't feel disconnected but maybe being in a new place separate from the flock was too strange and frightening for her. Moving in the Bielefelders didn't make things any better. I felt really awful that I put her through that.

By contrast when I moved the Bielefelders over for the first time they looked around for a few moments like, "So what's this?" and went for the treats. Then they just did their usual chicken things, scratching and pecking in the dirt, taking dust baths, and napping in the nest box.

Everyone is different.