Buff Orpington picking on Rhode Island Red!

[Pigeon123]

Hello,
My Buff Orpington is picking on my Rhode Island Red! My flock only consists of these two chickens. Do you guys have any suggestions? Should I get another chicken? And if so, what breed? Please reply as soon as possible with any ideas.

 

[Ridgerunner]

How old are they? How big, in feet or meters, is your coop and run? What sex are they? Can you describe what you mean by picking on? How long have you had them? Are they still in a brooder? Are any other chickens their age available for you to get one, regardless of breed but hopefully full sized fowl?

There is way too little information to even know if you have a problem, let alone what the answer might be. Getting another chicken may make it worse, not better. Please give us something to work with.

 

[Pigeon123]

Sorry,
My chickens are about 1 year old and I hatched them both from an incubator, so they have been together for their whole lives. I also don’t think they are purebreds as they both have feathers on their feet, not qualities of Buff Orpingtons and Rhode Island Reds. Both of my chickens are hens, and even though the Buff Orpington (?) is smalller and the scrawniest, she pecks at my Rhode Island Red’s (?) comb and face. This has not been going on for very long, and her comb is not damaged yet. The Buff Orpington tends to peck when they are dust bathing. Their coop is small- medium, so I let them out often. I don’t know if this is even a big problem? You tell me? If I were to get another chicken I would probably expand the coop, but I don’t know if another chicken is the answer. I found out that a flock should be an odd number of chickens, but again I don’t know. Thank you for your time.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Thanks for the information. It helps a lot.

The reason we normally recommend a minimum of three is that chickens are social animals, they like being around other chickens. If you only have two and one dies then you have a lonely chicken. As long as they stay alive there is nothing wrong with just two. Three or more is just insurance.

Yeah, if they have feathers on their feet they are not purebred. To me that is not important. You just have two hens. I do not see how adding another will help. Then you have to deal with an integration.

I don't know of that kind of pecking is a problem or not as long as she is not creating bald spots or drawing blood. I don't know what causes that. I once had a hen that pecked a bald spot on a rooster's neck, he just sat there and let her. I isolated him from her for a day and night, that behavior stopped.

I think I'd let them go and just observe. If you see bald spots or blood, can you isolate them for a day or two from each other? See if that stops it.

 

[snow5164]

Yikes , I’d get 2 more . Having just two really leaves you open to problems, what if one gets sick? Or this Boredom picking ... maybe they need more excitement in their lives.are they on layer ?

 

[Pigeon123]

Yes, they are on layer.