Bullies?

[MILOCHICKEN]

We have a young hen that has not started laying yet that is constantly hurt by the other chickens. It stays in the coop and will not come out to drink or eat because it is scared. Can I stop the chickens from bullying it?

 

[MILOCHICKEN]

Please reply

 

[Anne4596]

I have a chicken that is constantly being bullied as well. You might want to try to separate her and reintroduce her to the flock. She might also hide for other reasons, such as sickness or intestinal issues. She might be bullied because she is weak from sickness. I had a pullet pass away because she had an intestinal issue, and she never laid eggs. She was not bullied excessively until she became weak. Is this a recent occurrence, or has this problem been going on for a long time?

 

[MILOCHICKEN]

This is recent. It started when we killed her brothers

. we moved her to the coop with the big chickens. Our rooster defends her but our hens attack. She is the youngest there.

 

[Anne4596]

This is recent. It started when we killed her brothers . we moved her to the coop with the big chickens. Our rooster defends her but our hens attack. She is the youngest there.

If she is the smallest and all of the other hens are the same size, then she is automatically at the bottom of the pecking order. If you are truly worried about her, then you could get her a buddy her size and they will stick up for one another. She might be stressed because she was separated from her brothers. Again, separating her and reintroducing her is also an option until she is big enough to defend herself. Also again, she could be sick. How big is she and how big are the other girls? Are they different breeds?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi, welcome to BYC!

Do not separate her unless she is getting hurt. It will make it worse.

Some questions, because this sounds a lot like an integration issue....

You put her in with the big chickens, how old is she? Have they been seeing each other and free ranging together?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Having multiple feed stations and lots of hiding places will help. Just a simple visual barrier will help.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

No doubt she is scared and confused if she lost lost all of her original brood mates and then got thrown to the cannibals! (chicken are mean)

 

[donrae]

How old is she?

How many other birds?

How much space in the coop and run?


I'd say, since she's already there, leave her be. You say she's getting hurt---what are the older hens doing? If they're just chasing and pecking, and she's able to run away and hide from them, let them work things out. As long as she can run away, things should be fine. If she gets pinned down in a corner and the older hens peck her relentlessly, not giving up, you'll need to pull her out.

It takes a few weeks for a pullet in this situation to work her way into the main flock. As long as she can get to the feed and water twice a day, she'll get enough to eat and drink. You can put out extra feeders, or just watch and see when she ventures out.

Distract the main flock with some scratch or other treats, to take their attention from her.

 

[MILOCHICKEN]

How old is she? How many other birds? How much space in the coop and run? She is almost 6 months old. There are 8 other birds. There is 32 feet squared of room in the coop. She is large for her age. This year we used an incubator to hatch 11 chickens. Only 2 were hens. then 1/2 of a month later our hen naturally incubated 3 eggs. She was one of them. she is the same size as the hens that were incubated in an incubator. She may even be slightly larger then them.