Bully Hen?????? Please Help

[tucsonsmommy]

I have 3 chickens. Two Barred Rocks, and 1 Rhode Island Red. They are almost 1year old. One of the Barred Rock hens has started to peck the other two. There has always been some pecking. But not to this extent. This morning when I let them out of the coop, the Rhode Island red (who seems to be getting it the worse of the two, had been bleeding. The bleeding appeared to have clotted and it seems it might be from a pin feather. I am not sure what to do??? These are my first chickens. A friend told me to just let them be. No worries, but is that really true?? How do I break this behavior if it can be broken at all. And is there anything to do for the area where they are being pecked?

 

[beccaboo254]

You can always have chicken for dinner......

 

[aart]

How much room do they have? Crowding can cause stress.
Where are you located? You can put it in your profile, it can help folks make suggestions.
What are you feeding them.... brand and protein level of feed?

You can use blukote, it is an antiseptic and also camouflages the blood.
If it's from a pin feather maybe they are all molting and cranky....are they laying?

If it just keeps getting worse sometimes they need to be separated, separate the bully hen from the others.

 

[tucsonsmommy]

Aart- thank you so much for your response. I actually think space is part of the issue. We are expanding the run this weekend. We are in Maryland, Harford county closer to PA. They weren't laying due to the weather, but just recently started to lay again. The hen who is pecking is molting as well. Sounds like I have quite a bit stacked against me, lol. I am off to pick up some blukote now. Thanks for the advise. Let me know if you have any other advise. It's much appreciated.

 

[aart]

They need more protein when they are molting than most layer crumbles have in them...why I asked what exactly you are feeding.....give them some scrambled eggs or some kind of meat to up their animal protein intake.

More room is always good, especially if they're confined during bad weather.

Not laying probably has more to do with the molting or the length of day than the 'weather'.