Bully chicken! Please help!

[Crystalrising]

I have four chickens and they are all 27 weeks old. They have been all great with each other and everything has been peaceful. My lavender orpington just started laying a couple of days ago and that’s when one of my Easter Eggers started attacking her. She has drawn blood on her nose, comb, and by her ears. My lavender orpington won’t lay in the nesting boxes she lays in the run around everyone and tries to go underneath the other chickens. I’m assuming that’s why they started to mess with her. How do I get her to lay in the nesting boxes. Also will that fix the bullying? Should I separate the bully?

 

[nuthatched]

Remove the bully for a few days

 

[Mrs. K]

What was more than enough space when they were chicks, might not be enough space now that they are full grown. Being raised together has almost no influence on their behavior.

It might be best to sell a bird, but post a picture of your set up, and we can give better advice. Almost always, when birds start bullying, they are telling us that there is not enough room.

MRs K

 

[sniper338]

I agree with the space remark above. Some breeds do ok with less space, some breeds need more space, kinda depends on your birds. You can never have too much space. More the better..

What happens when humans are cooped up together for too long? Same deal everyone gets irritable.

 

[Crystalrising]

What was more than enough space when they were chicks, might not be enough space now that they are full grown. Being raised together has almost no influence on their behavior.

It might be best to sell a bird, but post a picture of your set up, and we can give better advice. Almost always, when birds start bullying, they are telling us that there is not enough room.

MRs K

What was more than enough space when they were chicks, might not be enough space now that they are full grown. Being raised together has almost no influence on their behavior.

It might be best to sell a bird, but post a picture of your set up, and we can give better advice. Almost always, when birds start bullying, they are telling us that there is not enough room.

MRs K

This is their set up and they have been super peaceful and only started attacking when my Orpington start laying in the run. They only attack her and only when she lays an egg.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Fake eggs in the nests can help give her a clue that that's a better place to lay (though that only works if she looks at the nesting area).

Unfortunately once birds start coming into lay hormones start becoming an issue, so birds that used to get along may suddenly start scuffling. You look to have enough space for 4 hens but there's little clutter to provide hiding space and enrichment: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/ And/or maybe look into pinless peepers on the head bully?

 

[Mrs. K]

What was space for past behavior, is not the space of now. IMO - The coop is big enough for 2 chickens possibly 3.

As for the run, which is big enough, take a look at how it is set up. All your chickens can see all of your chickens 100% of the time. I would add some pallets. Some leaned against the wall, some up on blocks so birds can get under and on top of the platform. I see you have a roost - but it is only about 2 feet off of the ground, add a couple more - one 4 feet and one 5-6 feet off the ground. I add mini walls, with multiple feed bowls, so at least two different feed stations, where a bird eating at one station can't see a bird eating at another.

I call this clutter, and you want enough stuff in the run, so that it is difficult to walk through for you. It can be chairs, tables, ladders, saw horses. But stuff so that a bird can get out of sight.

If you take a look at your run, you will see it is really only 2 dimensional - all that vertical space is unusable by your chickens. By adding clutter, your birds can get out of sight and out of reach of other birds, get better exercise by jumping and flying up and down. It is better use of the space you have.

With that grass in the run, I would assume that you really have not had the birds set up here for long? I know that you think that it is the laying that is triggering a problem, but I am thinking their is quite a bit of tension in your flock due to the small space, the birds they are, and the lack of escapes. When your bird goes to lay, the others can really take it out on her.

Mrs K