Bullied chicken

[Mrssak11]

I have a chicken that is getting bullied....not bad enough to hurt her and the others dont go after her but she definately keeps her distance from certain ones..now these are chickens I bought at 2 days old and she is not currently reached egg laying maturity yet.. the bullies however have...should I wait it out to see if once she reaches said maturity she will maybe not be as scared? Should I address this now? Or is this normal pecking order to be expected and it may not get further out of hand?

 

[DobieLover]

I have a chicken that is getting bullied....not bad enough to hurt her and the others dont go after her but she definately keeps her distance from certain ones..now these are chickens I bought at 2 days old and she is not currently reached egg laying maturity yet.. the bullies however have...should I wait it out to see if once she reaches said maturity she will maybe not be as scared? Should I address this now? Or is this normal pecking order to be expected and it may not get further out of hand?

It sounds like normal pecking order business to me. If she is not being injured, I will assume you have enough room where she can find places to get away from the others.
Once she starts laying, she will likely be more accepted but may remain at the bottom of the totem pole. It is normal for the the lowest ranking chicken to keep the heck away from the top ranking ones.
Ensure she is getting enough to eat and drink. If you need to, add more food and water stations and lots of things to do and places to hide in the run if they are completely confined.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You don't get guarantees with living animals and their behaviors. Anything can possibly happen. You will need to monitor the situation.

The way I understand this they are all the same age and have been raised together. This is a recent occurrence. If I'm wrong please correct me.

I think different things could be going on. It could easily be the difference in maturity and will sort itself out as the ones getting beat up mature. As they reach maturity at different times it is fairly normal for the pecking order to get rearranged. With mine this is usually not that noticeable but each chicken has its own personality. Sometimes it does spark behavioral problems.

I find that how much room they have can have an impact on behaviors. I don't know how much room they have or if there are certain times this happens. This could be good information. Is it in the coop, in the run, or on the roosts? They get bigger as they grow. Have they grown enough that what used to be enough room is now tight. You don't say where you are, again it could be good info. Has a change in weather caused them to be restricted to certain areas? Are you managing them any differently, maybe due to a change in weather or the change in daylight savings time?

 

[aart]

I have a chicken that is getting bullied....not bad enough to hurt her and the others dont go after her but she definately keeps her distance from certain ones..now these are chickens I bought at 2 days old and she is not currently reached egg laying maturity yet.. the bullies however have...should I wait it out to see if once she reaches said maturity she will maybe not be as scared? Should I address this now? Or is this normal pecking order to be expected and it may not get further out of hand?

All the birds are the same age... and have lived together since 2 days old?
If so, sounds typical.
If she's the only one not laying yet that can have an impact.

 

[Mrssak11]

Yes they are all the same age except one is alittle older (the farm place told me they throw a 1 week old chick in there to teach the younger ones where the food and water is) but the older one is totally chill shes not the bully and the one getting picked on is not the only one not producing yet....3 are laying 3 are not. Still normal?

 

[Mrssak11]

It sounds like normal pecking order business to me. If she is not being injured, I will assume you have enough room where she can find places to get away from the others.
Once she starts laying, she will likely be more accepted but may remain at the bottom of the totem pole. It is normal for the the lowest ranking chicken to keep the heck away from the top ranking ones.
Ensure she is getting enough to eat and drink. If you need to, add more food and water stations and lots of things to do and places to hide in the run if they are completely confined.

My only concern is will they get to the point of hurting her if I let it go on? Or could it be like this forever? Shes smart and keeps her distance but they are confined during the day but they are in a old milkhouse so she has places to go...

 

[Mrssak11]

You don't get guarantees with living animals and their behaviors. Anything can possibly happen. You will need to monitor the situation.

The way I understand this they are all the same age and have been raised together. This is a recent occurrence. If I'm wrong please correct me.

I think different things could be going on. It could easily be the difference in maturity and will sort itself out as the ones getting beat up mature. As they reach maturity at different times it is fairly normal for the pecking order to get rearranged. With mine this is usually not that noticeable but each chicken has its own personality. Sometimes it does spark behavioral problems.

I find that how much room they have can have an impact on behaviors. I don't know how much room they have or if there are certain times this happens. This could be good information. Is it in the coop, in the run, or on the roosts? They get bigger as they grow. Have they grown enough that what used to be enough room is now tight. You don't say where you are, again it could be good info. Has a change in weather caused them to be restricted to certain areas? Are you managing them any differently, maybe due to a change in weather or the change in daylight savings time?

They are in a coop that was converted from an old milkhouse...they have a run that is 8 foot by 16 foot they had been in there for quite sometime before this happened and It started when the laying started. It's kind of harmless now but I dont want it to come to injury. I have to boost her confidence somehow.

 

[aart]

There will almost always be a 'low bird'.
As long as no blood is shed and she can eat and drink without harassment,
leave them be to manage their society.
The pecking order is fluid and can change, onset of lay is a time when those changes can be happening...hormones running high.

 

[Mrs. K]

Is your run an open area, whereas a bird can be seen by every other bird no matter where she is? I see a lot of runs like that. If so add some roosts, and some clutter, a box on it's side, a piece of plywood leaned against a wall. A pallet up on cement blocks. This will make more use of the vertical space, it will let birds get away from each other, and out of sight of each other.

And add a second feed station so that while eating at it, a bird can't see who is eating at the other one.

And when she starts laying, it will help.

Mrs K

 

[aart]

Is your run an open area, whereas a bird can be seen by every other bird no matter where she is?

Yes!
Here's some ideas for that.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/

Seeing pics of your coop and run may garner other suggestions.