Bullying and pecking - need help and advice - I'm desperate

[Alderen]

I'm desperate and need any/all advice. I need to give a little back story and I'll include pictures when I can.

At the end of April 2023, we purchased 6 chicks from a local feed store. 2 Starlight Green Eggers ( SGE - 2 weeks old), 2 Black Australorps (BA - 1 week old), 1 Barred Rock (BR - 1 week old), and 1 Dominquie (Dom - 1 week old). We then purchased a coop from TSC (see exhibit A below) that said it would hold 8 - 10 chickens. Being new to chickens, we took them at their word. All the chicks were housed together and got along beautifully until the end of August and the beginning of September.

By mid-July we realized that the small coop would not hold our 6 chickens and that they were too crowded (free-ranging wasn't an option at that point) We started constructing our new chicken coop/run. (see exhibit B below) but could only work on the coop on weekends so it was taking a little time to get everything built.

The problems begin. 1 of our chickens - Goldie (SGE) - pecked the back of JC's (BA) neck and made a raw bloody spot the size of a quarter. I'll include pictures of our chickens with names so you can identify all the "players". My dad (who lives next door) had an old coop at his barn so I cleaned it out, made a few minor repairs, and prepared to use it temporarily. We move 4 of the chickens down there (all of them except the 2 BA's). I kept the injured chicken in the small coop, doctored her wound, and kept the other BA with her as company. All was well. The 4 in the other pen began to lay and 1 of the BA's also began laying. It took us about 3 more weekends to finish the new coop and prepare to move all the chicks in.

Saturday, September 30, 2023, was moving day. We got everyone placed into the new coop/run. They all were checking everything out, etc. At this point, Beatrice (the other SGE) caught sight of JC and ran over and started pecking her neck which had been pretty much healed at this point. I just figured that the flock was establishing the pecking order again. I went to TSC, got some Blu-Kote, and hid the wound. The two SGE chickens seemed to leave the others alone for about 1/2 a day. They then started to bully both BA chickens. Then the other 2 chickens (BR and Dom) got in on the action. The four began to chase the two BA's around, grabbing their feathers as they ran by, jumping on their backs and picking feathers - so NOW I have 4 bullying 2. For a day or so the 2 BA's just hid in the coop and wouldn't come out unless I or someone was there to "guard" them.

I searched the internet and that's how I originally found BYC. I saw some people recommend a "No picking spray" so I ordered that. I received it 2 days ago and applied it to the BA's tail and back as directed. This worked for about 1/2 day. The directions don't say how often or really how much to apply and even though it seems to be made from herbs and oils (i.e. tea tree, rosemary, and peppers) I don't want to over-apply. I also saw where some people have had luck with the pinless peepers. My other thought was to maybe move the small coop (our original one) next to the larger one and place the 2 SGE in there since they seem to be the ones that started everything and have now taught the other 2 some very bad habits. I don't know if the BR and the Dom would then leave the 2 BA's alone or if the 2 BA's would start to stand up to them since it would now be 2 vs 2 instead of 2 vs 4. My thoughts are to keep the SGE separate for about a week and then try to reintroduce them to the flock. I guess my hope is that the 2 BA's, the BR and the Dom will start to get along, and when I put the SGE back in the pecking order will have been rearranged and everyone can be happy together.

I'm so desperate for any help. Did I screw up everything by keeping the 2 separate from the others for about 3 weeks? Did I introduce them back together incorrectly? All 6 of the chickens have now started to lay and when I'm out at the coop/run, everyone is outside in the run and getting along, however, as soon as I walk out, it's chaos. All the girls have unique personalities and I really want to keep all 6 and have them all in the new coop/run. At night, they all go into the coop to roost, and at times even sit next to each other. Most of the time though, it's "birds of a feather" sit together. I really can't express how desperate I am. It upsets me so much to think I did something to cause this or haven't done the right things to get it resolved.

I apologize for the long thread, however, I felt some history/back story was vital. A few more facts that might help. Our new coop is approximately 5'x8' (not sure how tall but my 6'3" son can stand up in it), and the run is 8'x16'. We're also discussing getting some electric poultry fencing so we can free-range them. They have a dust bath and toys in the run to help keep them occupied. I have also included some pictures of the 1st coop, the new coop/run, and our chickens. Any/all help and advice are VERY welcome. Please help!

 

[Tonyroo]

Remove the Bully hens. This behavior is very hard to break.

Your option is to let them live separately, rehome the Bully, or cull them.

 

[tripletfeb]

You could try pinless peepers. I've used them before with great success

 

[tripletfeb]

You could also try to remove the bullies for awhile to see if the flock dynamics change. I would not give up on any of them. I've had some issues with bullying before and have had to cull. But my bullies killed another hen so it was pretty extreme. Try separating the bullies for awhile. And if that doesn't work when you put them back together, do the pinless peepers

 

[KyCoop]

I just last week rehomed 2 bullies. Mild pecking and a little chasing is normal but when it turns into stalking and jumping on with feather plucking and blood shed the line is crossed and they are gone.

 

[Alderen]

You could also try to remove the bullies for awhile to see if the flock dynamics change. I would not give up on any of them. I've had some issues with bullying before and have had to cull. But my bullies killed another hen so it was pretty extreme. Try separating the bullies for awhile. And if that doesn't work when you put them back together, do the pinless peepers

Thanks for the advice. I really don't want to give up on them. I know that chickens are smart and stubborn. I'm hoping they are still young enough that I can redirect and reestablish good behavior (maybe I'm delusional though - lol). I'll be moving the bullies into a separate area today. I also think that I need to add some "clutter" to the run. I don't know why I was thinking a clear space would be better for them.

 

[tripletfeb]

Thanks for the advice. I really don't want to give up on them. I know that chickens are smart and stubborn. I'm hoping they are still young enough that I can redirect and reestablish good behavior (maybe I'm delusional though - lol). I'll be moving the bullies into a separate area today. I also think that I need to add some "clutter" to the run. I don't know why I was thinking a clear space would be better for them.

All good ideas. Then if they are still being nasty, on go the pinless peepers

 

[rosemarythyme]

Yes on adding more clutter, it's a much better space now but there's no shelter or distractions in the run to provide hiding spots or enrichment. No you shouldn't have separated the 2 birds for 3 weeks, they needed to be reintegrated as if they were brand new to the flock, which it doesn't appear you did, if I read it correctly?

As far as the no pick lotion, from my experience it needs to be applied at least once a day and loses effectiveness as early as after a few hours. So it does work, but it doesn't work terribly well for long if you have an ongoing picking issue.

 

[Alderen]

Yes on adding more clutter, it's a much better space now but there's no shelter or distractions in the run to provide hiding spots or enrichment. No you shouldn't have separated the 2 birds for 3 weeks, they needed to be reintegrated as if they were brand new to the flock, which it doesn't appear you did, if I read it correctly?

As far as the no pick lotion, from my experience it needs to be applied at least once a day and loses effectiveness as early as after a few hours. So it does work, but it doesn't work terribly well for long if you have an ongoing picking issue.

I'm still really new to all of this and have never had to reintegrate any chicks into a flock. The only reason I did separate the 2 was from what I had read online (before I found BYC) you should separate the injured chick so the others wouldn't hurt it more. I know that chickens are social that's why I left the other one - for company.

Thank you for the information about the pick lotion. Sounds like I'm definitely NOT applying it often enough.

What IS the best way to reintegrate chickens into a flock? At some point, I'll probably want to add to my flock and I don't want to screw up again and do things wrong and have this happen again.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I'm still really new to all of this and have never had to reintegrate any chicks into a flock. The only reason I did separate the 2 was from what I had read online (before I found BYC) you should separate the injured chick so the others wouldn't hurt it more. I know that chickens are social that's why I left the other one - for company.

Separation depends on how severe the injury is. Obviously an open would that other birds are picking at would be a time where you'd want them completely physically separated. However I always keep separated birds in full line of sight of the flock (the exception would be contagious diseases, however if the bird was already in the flock, it's very likely that the disease has already been spread through the group).

I had one bird in isolation for 6 weeks. Her isolation cage was in the center of the run. Adding her back to the flock was as simple as opening the door and letting her out. It may not always go that smoothly, but chances of success are much higher when the flock still recognized her from having seen and heard her during that entire stretch of time.

Thank you for the information about the pick lotion. Sounds like I'm definitely NOT applying it often enough.

Yeah I only figured it out by watching how much picking went on an hour after application, 3 hours after, 6 hours after, etc. If the picking is pretty bad, applying twice a day might be necessary to get results at all, but it's really not a good long term solution.

What IS the best way to reintegrate chickens into a flock? At some point, I'll probably want to add to my flock and I don't want to screw up again and do things wrong and have this happen again.

Adding birds back in is generally the same as adding new birds - abouty 1-2 weeks in a separate see-but-no-touch enclosure in full sight of the others, then optimally some supervised time together in a large enough space (like your run) with plenty of clutter to help distract and to provide hiding spots. There's different nuances with adding small chicks to adults, or a rooster to all hens, or younger pullets to older ones, for example, but the above is a general fits-most-situations type approach.