Bullying, Egg-Eating, and Depression?

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

Ohhhh, think iv'e found at least a chunk of Darla's woes.
She's in the pecking order now with your meanies, it started the split second she laid her first egg.
She's the low hen.
Her treatment wont change until an even more docile hen starts to lay or Darla kicks somebody's butt and moves up in rank.

Also, do you think her sudden fall to the bottom and the bullying would cause her to become quieter, and depressed behaving? That's what had me worried yesterday. She eats and drinks and poops fine but seemed a little off yesterday (also i witnessed some intense assaults that day). Napping a lot that afternoon. This morning she seems normal so far, energetic and doing chicken things in her oddball way.

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

I think she looks fine. I don't see any pecking wounds/scabs to her comb or wattles, so they are not pecking her hard, she's just low in the pecking order. I would just observe and let them work it all out.
Doubtful she is egg bound - she's eating/drinking, moving around. An egg bound pullet/hen will isolate herself, not eat/drink, stand hunch up/like a penguin, or find a place to lay still.

She had a minor comb cut that I treated yesterday and it healed up right away. Thank you for your two cents. She laid around a lot yesterday afternoon which had me worried, but I figured she could've gotten dispirited. She never laid alone, though--hung around the others. Both yesterday and today she's been eating and drinking, etc. More energy this morning (and less bullying this far... Hmmm).

It's hard to know whether she lays or not on a given day, since she doesn't do it in the boxes and it gets eaten up immediately... So it's equally difficult to know if egg binding is brewing.

 

[Chickassan]

Lol, I already know about cursing hens with names.
The most venomous personality in my flock belongs to a hen named after my mother in law...oopsie.

The funny thing is, we named them after the female-forward cast of Buffy the vampire Slayer. Sure enough, the two running things happened to be the two we named Buffy and Willow (as chicks)-- talk about self-fufilling prophecy. They are kind and good watchers but have a "bigger fish to fry" demeanor and don't get caught up in the petty drama. And sure enough: the meanies under them are Cordelia (BR), who has an attitude but is not truly evil, and Drusilla (GLW), who is the axis of evil. Be careful what you name your hens!

Yes her position in the flock and how she's being treated most certainly can effect her mood and demeanor.
It is really noticeable "and freaking sad" if the bottom hen already had a very calm, sweet, disposition.
Those hens tend to mope especially hard.

Also, do you think her sudden fall to the bottom and the bullying would cause her to become quieter, and depressed behaving? That's what had me worried yesterday. She eats and drinks and poops fine but seemed a little off yesterday (also i witnessed some intense assaults that day). Napping a lot that afternoon. This morning she seems normal so far, energetic and doing chicken things in her oddball way.

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

That first part cracked me up

Lol, I already know about cursing hens with names.
The most venomous personality in my flock belongs to a hen named after my mother in law...oopsie.


Yes her position in the flock and how she's being treated most certainly can effect her mood and demeanor.
It is really noticeable "and freaking sad" if the bottom hen already had a very calm, sweet, disposition.
Those hens tend to mope especially hard.

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

Thank you @hysop @slordaz @Brahma Chicken5000 @Wyorp Rock @sorce @Chickassan @sunrise.superman for helping me through this (I don't like mean girls in human life and somehow it's even more distressing in chicken life--though I know it's sadly the nature of the game in both arenas).

And more importantly, thank you for helping our little oddball Darla. Just checked on her and she is doing fine today

 

[sorce]

Again, I have a noob eye to chickens, but she looks damn good.
Enough to know you're more keen on more subtle clues than some.
They'll be fine!

The less you worry, the less they'll worry! That's Nature!

Sorce

 

[moniquem]

MY BR was a complete b$#%h face to my little "special needs" SS. I finally re-homed her, thank God, and my other 3 girls settled in nicely to life.

I'm convinced my SS didn't lay last year due to the bullying, she was getting attacked when she would go into the nest boxes. When I witnessed that I put Louise , the BR, up for free on craigslist and she was gone by the next day. Not a nice girl.

Some people believe you can train a bully to be nice but I really don't have time to be messing around with all of that. Bad girl jail, pinless peepers, etc.....IMO, there are too many nice chickens that would love to live the good life at my place that I would rather spend time with than try to reeducate a b%$#h face. Just saying.

 

[Chickassan]

It is funny to you!
I turned a perfectly nice hen into 24/7 monster just because she was white...yep.
Seemed like a good idea at the time, turns out nope I was trippin.
Good intentions got me again, sneaky jerks.
Wanna meet my mother in law? She bites and will go out of her way to poop on you...girl has to have her hobbies you know.

That first part cracked me up

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

It is funny to you!
I turned a perfectly nice hen into 24/7 monster just because she was white...yep.
Seemed like a good idea at the time, turns out nope I was trippin.
Good intentions got me again, sneaky jerks.
Wanna meet my mother in law? She bites and will go out of her way to poop on you...girl has to have her hobbies you know.



View attachment 1912313

Your mother-in-law might be a poop-dropping, finger-pecking meanie, but she sure is cuddly looking. Then again, aren't the scariest ones always misleadingly cute? Master manipulators!

 

[Chickassan]

She might be cuddly but I wouldn't know.
She won't let me touch her, she dosent even like me looking at her too long .
Iv'e had her four years and touched her three whole times and she was really sick two of those.
Third one I force petted her in the dark...she'll get me for that eventually.

Your mother-in-law might be a poop-dropping, finger-pecking meanie, but she sure is cuddly looking. Then again, aren't the scariest ones always misleadingly cute? Master manipulators!