JMinhondo
In the Brooder
- May 12, 2015
- 11
- 2
- 26
Some background information:
I have three hens who grew up together from chicks. They’re ten months old. All three are laying as of this moment.
Breeds & Names include:
Production Red-PBH
2 Easter Eggers- Phoebe and Ragina
All three have been fine together and our Production Red seem to take the leadership role.
As for their living corridors, they have a coop along with large area 6x8 to roam in. We do not allow them to roam the yard unsupervised, as we have MANY red tail hawks who live in the area. We also don’t have a lot of coverage for them to hide in for safety.
Our issue:
Last Wednesday, Phoebe began to attack Ragina on the back of her head. My husband was home and didn’t realize how badly the injuries were. He didn’t know what started it, he just heard loud cries. Ragina was bleeding on her head and comb. PBH (our production red) could care less. Because PBH wasn’t harming our injured Ragina, we allowed them to stay in the main area together. My husband and I did our research and put a wire barrier between the 2 calm gals and the bully. At night, we brought the bully, Phoebe, into the house and placed her in a bin to sleep.
Thursday: Ragina was healed and we decided to cover her head with Vaseline (as we read about online). We also extended their run out the back by using a dog wire gate, adding more space for them. Phoebe continued to attack Ragina. At one point, she looked like she was cleaning her, then stopped, stared at each other and then attack her. Every time Phoebe would do this Ragina would bow her head and run away. Ragina seemed to flee every area Phoebe was in and at one point when I opened their gate, she ran out to me. So we put Phoebe back in the smaller area for the day but let her sleep in the large coop with the other gals.
Friday, We decided to separate her from the group, still being able to see each other for three days. I was hoping this would bring her down a peg or two. We would bring Phoebe inside each night, not allowing her to sleep with the other girls.
Today, we let all three of them out in the backyard with supervision. Ragina seemed to stay clear of Phoebe and Phoebe showed little interest in Ragina. After about two hours, Phoebe began to lightly pick on Ragina, stopped and pecked her hard on her head. SIGH! UGH! So now we are back to separation and honestly, exhausted!
I read mixed reviews on separating the bully from the group. Some said separate with view of other chickens while others said separate completely.
We are pretty much desperate at this point and would love to figure this out. Ragina and Phoebe used to be buddies. They followed each other around and also slept right next to each other. Now, blood is drawn and I can’t figure out how to get them back to healthy terms.
Please HELP!!!!!
I have three hens who grew up together from chicks. They’re ten months old. All three are laying as of this moment.
Breeds & Names include:
Production Red-PBH
2 Easter Eggers- Phoebe and Ragina
All three have been fine together and our Production Red seem to take the leadership role.
As for their living corridors, they have a coop along with large area 6x8 to roam in. We do not allow them to roam the yard unsupervised, as we have MANY red tail hawks who live in the area. We also don’t have a lot of coverage for them to hide in for safety.
Our issue:
Last Wednesday, Phoebe began to attack Ragina on the back of her head. My husband was home and didn’t realize how badly the injuries were. He didn’t know what started it, he just heard loud cries. Ragina was bleeding on her head and comb. PBH (our production red) could care less. Because PBH wasn’t harming our injured Ragina, we allowed them to stay in the main area together. My husband and I did our research and put a wire barrier between the 2 calm gals and the bully. At night, we brought the bully, Phoebe, into the house and placed her in a bin to sleep.
Thursday: Ragina was healed and we decided to cover her head with Vaseline (as we read about online). We also extended their run out the back by using a dog wire gate, adding more space for them. Phoebe continued to attack Ragina. At one point, she looked like she was cleaning her, then stopped, stared at each other and then attack her. Every time Phoebe would do this Ragina would bow her head and run away. Ragina seemed to flee every area Phoebe was in and at one point when I opened their gate, she ran out to me. So we put Phoebe back in the smaller area for the day but let her sleep in the large coop with the other gals.
Friday, We decided to separate her from the group, still being able to see each other for three days. I was hoping this would bring her down a peg or two. We would bring Phoebe inside each night, not allowing her to sleep with the other girls.
Today, we let all three of them out in the backyard with supervision. Ragina seemed to stay clear of Phoebe and Phoebe showed little interest in Ragina. After about two hours, Phoebe began to lightly pick on Ragina, stopped and pecked her hard on her head. SIGH! UGH! So now we are back to separation and honestly, exhausted!
I read mixed reviews on separating the bully from the group. Some said separate with view of other chickens while others said separate completely.
We are pretty much desperate at this point and would love to figure this out. Ragina and Phoebe used to be buddies. They followed each other around and also slept right next to each other. Now, blood is drawn and I can’t figure out how to get them back to healthy terms.
Please HELP!!!!!
