Bullying

[Madison2237]

I need some help ..... !!! I have a cochin about a year old. Very sweet. Lately, some of the other chickens (RRR and Barred Rocks) seem to peck at her and are mean. They peck at her head and she then hides her head. The other day they pecked so much she had a few bloddy spots. So I removed her from the flock and she's been in the house the last few nights. I tried to put her outside with the rest of chickens this afternoon but they weren't having it. Looks like another night in the house but how are they going to learn to get along ? She cowers to the chickens and has no self-confidence or backbone it seems. That's why they pick on her probably. Any advice ???

 

[QueenMisha]

First, buy and and apply some anti-picking lotion. Then you need to determine which hens are doing the picking, and separate them somewhere they can't see or interact with each other or the rest of the flock. Keep them here for a week or more, then reintroduce them separately, e.g. one the first day and the next the second day, etc. If they go back to the behavior, you should fit them with pinless peepers. If they continue even after this measure, they should be culled from the flock.

You should also evaluate their environment to determine if anything in particular caused the picking. Do they have enough space? Do they have feed free choice? Is there any reason they would become bored or aggressive?