Bully hen.

[Kaceyram11]

I lost two hens last week to a predator. One was of my original group of 3 someone was giving away. The other one was of 2 added later. The younger polish is being bullied relentlessly by one of the originals. The polish has always been picked on more but now she is the focus of it from one older hen. I saw tonight she jumped in her back and pulled out her head feathers. It’s painful to see. Should I separate the bully? And how? Kennel in the coop? I don’t know what to do. I know they’re all struggling with the loss…the polish hasn’t laid in a week….

 

[WIchickMama]

Poor Polish hen. I took one too that was being bullied, had 80% of head feathers pecked out. Now 4 weeks later at our house she is growing head feathers fully. I would say separation is key.

Are they re-establishing their pecking order with recent loss?

 

[Jajika]

Hi Kaceyram11. I'm so sorry about your aggressive bully. There is usually a pecking order, but not that violent. Yes, the best advice is to separate her for a while and show her she is no longer the boss. I'd give it at least four days. If you can find a cage large enough to hold her with her food an water inside and that she can see out, that is best. I have a large wire cage that is out in the run (fenced in run that is quite large and the coop is inside this run. At night I cover the cage with a large tarp to get the chicken feeling safe, then open it up during the day. See if this helps.

 

[Big Doggie]

Hi Kaceyram11. I'm so sorry about your aggressive bully. There is usually a pecking order, but not that violent. Yes, the best advice is to separate her for a while and show her she is no longer the boss. I'd give it at least four days. If you can find a cage large enough to hold her with her food an water inside and that she can see out, that is best. I have a large wire cage that is out in the run (fenced in run that is quite large and the coop is inside this run. At night I cover the cage with a large tarp to get the chicken feeling safe, then open it up during the day. See if this helps.

I just tried that with no luck. Boss hen didn’t waste a minute. Went right back to the bullying. Luckily I had some left over HC and lumber. I built an abutting run and small coop big enough for 2 hens. My victim hen will be exploring her new home today.