Bullied Hen

[MrsTater2]

Hi everyone!

My husband and I are new to owning chickens and we’ve come across a problem we are having a hard time dealing with. We noticed the last week or so that one hen is staying in the coop all day in one of the roosting boxes. She lays in the same one all day, is in there every time we go to the coop, and it’s preventing other hens from laying eggs. We have a total of 5 hens, no roosters, and we got all of them in March as chicks so they’re less than a year old. They have a small coop with only 3 roosting boxes and they only lay in 2 of them. We also have a run for them and let them out every morning and lock them up at sunset every night.

Today we took the hen out of the coop and put her in the tub with the other birds. My husband noticed this thrown a lot of rock in their water jug so he shook it out and put it back. When the hen went to drink, the other hens all ganged up on her and she ran from the coop. I started talking to her and asked if they were being mean and they all came over to us at the other side of the coop and began attacking her. Everywhere she went, she had 4 hens chasing her until she finally went back to the coop and stayed.

Neither of us has seen her eat or drink at all, but we also aren’t at the coop all day. We usually check it a handful of times a day because they generally lay throughout the whole day instead of all at one time of day, and the hen is always there at the same roosting Box.

Does anyone have any ideas of what we should do? We are hoping to get a bigger coop soon which might help some but I’m just not sure the coop is the problem.

Thanks!

 

[Pork Pie]

This link is a good starting point -
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-much-room-do-chickens-need

Putting out multiple feed / water stations may also help, as aggression tends to be greater around resources. Putting physical structures in the run, which helps break up line of sight can also help.

 

[ChickNanny13]

You need to check the "bullied" hen weight, if she's not able to eat/drink and stressed all the time, not healthy. Pork Pie Ken's link is a good one as is his recommendations. If you can't get them to accept her, consider rehoming her.

 

[chickendreams24]

Okay I'm thinking along a different line right now and I may he totally wrong but maybe not.

Is there a chance she's broody? What breed is she?

Does she scream or grumble when you enter the coop or when you mess with her? Is she puffed up when out walking around clucking and may have her wings out and or lowered? Does she have a bare patch on her chest or a very warm spot that may not be bare?

A flock will sometimes attack a hen/pullet if they go broody bc they act funny almost like they're sick. Especially if they weren't high on the pecking order to begin with.

 

[MrsTater2]

Okay I'm thinking along a different line right now and I may he totally wrong but maybe not.

Is there a chance she's broody? What breed is she?

Does she scream or grumble when you enter the coop or when you mess with her? Is she puffed up when out walking around clucking and may have her wings out and or lowered? Does she have a bare patch on her chest or a very warm spot that may not be bare?

A flock will sometimes attack a hen/pullet if they go broody bc they act funny almost like they're sick. Especially if they weren't high on the pecking order to begin with.

YES! That’s exactly go she acts! What’s does it mean when she’s broody?

 

[MrsTater2]

Thanks everyone for your help!

 

[MrsTater2]

YES! That’s exactly go she acts! What’s does it mean when she’s broody?

Oh and she’s a Buff Orpington

 

[ChattyChickens4Life]

I'm thinking.... Broody. Broody. Broody!

She likely has't been eating or drinking because she's trying to be a momma! The other hens are probably mad at her for not allowing them to use the nesting boxes.

Try this. Next time you see her in the nesting box, reach in your hand. Does she puff up, growl, or peck at you? If so, she's most definitely broody! Good luck!

 

[ChattyChickens4Life]

Thanks everyone for your help!

Broody means that a hen tries to hatch an egg, even if they aren't fertilized. She becomes defensive, and very set in her 'Mommy Duties' she won't eat, drink, or poop until the eggs have hatched. If she is broody, you will need to break her of the broody behavior if the eggs aren't fertilized. There are many ways to do this.

1) You can place ice or a cold pack underneath her.

2) You can separate her from the nesting box, and not allow her access. (Always do this)

3) You can try dipping her lower end into cool water a few times a day.

Here is a website that explains more.

https://www.thehappychickencoop.com/6-ways-to-break-a-broody-hen/

Good luck and best wishes!

 

[MrsTater2]

We don’t have any roosters so how can we solve this problem? If there’s no roosters obviously she can’t have babies so is there a way to try and stop her?