Bullying ??? Adding a roo???

[Fancypants1]

I have 7 13 week old pullets and my Egyptian Fayoumi is attacking (bullying) 2 of my beautiful polish girls - so much that she has been in "chicken jail" since last Tuesday.



She is SO unhappy, pacing and making a lot of noise. What else can I do? How long should I keep her isolated? I had my husband make a larger run for them just this past Friday hoping that will help the bullying once she gets back in with the rest of the girls.










I heard adding a roo might help with the pecking order between hens - is that true?? Or will that just add more stress to the family? Is there always going to be a head female even if a male is around?? Probably huh.

 

[Peeps61]

I think you are already doing the right things. A bigger run should help. Before you by a roo, decide if you are prepared to deal with all that goes along with that. It's interesting to watch the flock dynamics with a roo, but he can be mean to your hens too. The one I had did a great job of keeping the girls from fighting and in line - although mine all got along fairly well anyway. They were all raised together.

I think if your hens have plenty of room to get away from the bully, it will probably work itself out. Roos can be cool, but they can be a LOT of trouble too.

 

[Fancypants1]

Great advise, I don't want a rooster but I also don't want my polish to be hurt and bald. How long should I keep the bully isolated? She has been separated for a week. Have you ever used pinless peeps?

These were my girls a couple weeks ago. They are healed just no new feathers yet.

 

[Peeps61]

Wow! I've not tried pinless peepers, but if isolating and then reintroducing the bully doesn't work, you might give those a go. I think the extra room in your coop may help. Also, if they (the polish) have places they can hide, that helps too. If you find that you can't make it work, you may simply want to rehome her, or keep her in her own pen close to the others so she doesn't feel too alone. Mine are all accustomed to each other as they are about 1 1/2 years old now. It will be interesting to see what happens when I integrate my 10 week old chicks with them!