Bully or Normal Behavior?

[MaggieRose2001]

I don’t know if I have a bully or if this is normal chicken behavior. I have 10 chickens all the same age (26wks) and of various breeds. My Wyandotte ( Dottie ) is picking on everyone. Especially Alice - my buff Orpington. She has had a bloody comb for the past week. Dottie pecks anyone who tries to eat or drink while she is. Yesterday, my Cochin (Clementine) was just minding her own business dust bathing and Dottie came over pecked her and then walked off. Clementine waited a minute and then tried to bathe again and Dottie came over and pecked again.

I understand about pecking order and I guess it wouldn’t bother me so much except that Alice us my absolute favorite bird and it’s making me angry that she is bloody.

Anyway - I didn’t know if I should try to quarantine her for a few days or weeks. Is there a downside to it. I put her in her own space this morning and I just feel so bad - it breaks my heart. She us just pacing back and forth. I don’t want to unnecessarily punish or cause undo stress to Dottie for normal behavior. But I also don’t want to make Alice suffer daily from being pecked on.

What should I do?

 

[The-White-Elephant]

Some chickens are just born mean, and sometimes, well, most times, you can’t do much about it. Maybe try google?

 

[Auntiejessi3]

How big is your coop and run in feet? Pictures would be great. How many feed and water stations do you have?

 

[nicalandia]

That's normal chicken pecking order, she is just being overly enthusiastic about it, she is the Boss at the Coop

 

[3KillerBs]

How big is your coop and run in feet? Pictures would be great. How many feed and water stations do you have?

Yes, this.

We can give better advice if we know what conditions you're working with.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Some on/off bullying is normal. Drawing blood is not acceptable or desirable.

x3 on photos of your set up so we can see their living space, to see if improvements/changes need to be made.

 

[MaggieRose2001]

How big is your coop and run in feet? Pictures would be great. How many feed and water stations do you have?

My coop is 4ft x 8ft and my run is 10ft x 10ft with more space under the coop. I have one 10ft roost running diagonally in the coop - but they all huddle don’t use the whole space. I originally was going to have two roosts running parallel but since they didn’t seem to use all the space on the one roost I didn’t. Maybe I should?

 

[MaggieRose2001]

How big is your coop and run in feet? Pictures would be great. How many feed and water stations do you have?

I have one 2gal water and I have two feeding stations. One hanging or on the ground depending on what I am feeding them (I sometimes do fermented grains) and then more feeding stations along the wall.

 

[MaggieRose2001]

Here are some pictures. You can see the additional feed stations- one for calcium, one for grit and the rest are for feed.

I was thinking I would actually start separating her when I first feed to let everyone else feed and then bring her back after 10 min or so.

 

[Auntiejessi3]

Very cute setup! I started with 1 waterer and 1 feeder, with small cups for grit and oyster/egg shell. I added an extra of each when I got my next 3 pullets, but I think the key is to have them out of the line of sight. If you look in the first picture my second waterer is on the side of the coop(pvc pipe) all undercover The small black container on the fencing is used for their fermented feed or mash. I will say that only 1 other chicken gets to eat with the queen "B" my brahma, but when she's done the others get their mash too. I'd try making a few minor changes and if that doesn't work I'd lock the bully up for a few days in a dog crate in the run and see if that changes her tune.