Bullying

[Sflosky]

I have four chickens, two amber link and two black sex linked. The two amber links have gotten into the habit of chasing away and pecking at my littlest black sex link. (She has had her feather plucked and has multiple fresh wounds that never seem to get the chance to heal) I want to find a solution that allows me to keep them all. It’s not because of boredom as they have had a lot of new things to play with. We did cabbage cabbage hanging from the ceiling and I got them a mealworm dispenser that they have to kick around. When I remove the bullied one she is much more relaxed on her own. How do I prevent future bullying?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

How big is your set up? It's normal for the bottom bird to get chased and pecked. It's not normal for them to get wounds from it. That usually means the bottom bird can't get away from the top birds. A general safe distance seems to be 5-10 feet. In a smaller set up birds can't get away far enough.

Providing places for them to get up on, under or behind can help. Chickens need lots of exercise, and places to dig and scratch. Chickens don't really play. They spend all day searching for food, resting, or dust bathing if given the choice. They need dirt, and room to move.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Photos of your set up with necessary measurements (coop and run) would help.

Also I'm not a fan of food as entertainment. They need other things to do that don't involve eating (even if they act like that's all they do).

 

[Sflosky]

It is 6x 3ft 7 in. What do u recommend for toys? On days where it’s not raining I try to let them roam most of the day in the bigger fenced in area. Occasionally we give them free range of the whole yard.

 

[aart]

Yeah, they need more secure run space.

What do u recommend for toys?

Not 'toys' per se.....but 'stuff' to climb on and under.
Here's some ideas:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/

 

[Sflosky]

Thank you for the tips! Hopefully I can figure something out.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Aart linked the thread I was thinking of.

Almost any sort of clutter will do, as long as it's a chicken safe material. Anything they can go up on, under, around, or scratch up. My chickens will occupy themselves for hours digging through a bag's worth of dried leaves. Sometimes I'll just rake up the litter that's already there in a pile, and let them redistribute it.

I'd really suggest expanding the run. Doesn't have to be anything fancy. A dog kennel makes for a relatively easy conversion. That'll give you the space needed to add clutter mentioned above, and to just allow the birds to get away from one another when tensions run high.