Bullying

[JazzyzGurl]

I have five hens: two Wyandottes, an Easter Egger, a Black Australorp, and a Grey Cochin. A couple of months ago the Black Austrlorp started bullying the Grey Cochin. Just in the last few days one of the Wyandottes has joined in the bullying of the Grey Cochin as well. I've used a squirt gun to try to discourage the bully when I see it happening, but it's not easing up. It's to the point where the Grey Cochin is hiding much of the time and cowers whenever one of the bullies is anywhere near.

I got the hens at the same time (March) from the same place and they're all together all the time. They free-range all day, every day, so it's not a crowding issue.

What can I do to resolve this?

 

[azygous]

Bullying is frustrating but you can do something to stop it from continuing. Read through this https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/chicken-bully-chicken-victim-a-two-sided-issue.73923/ and we'll talk if you have any questions about this procedure.

 

[JazzyzGurl]

Bullying is frustrating but you can do something to stop it from continuing. Read through this https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/chicken-bully-chicken-victim-a-two-sided-issue.73923/ and we'll talk if you have any questions about this procedure.

What a great article - and it provides a fresh perspective on the issue that is very welcome!

We're in the process of building a much larger, permanent coop & run, so I'll integrate a small 'jail' into the run as well as the one I had planned for in the coop.

In the meantime would it work to keep the Blue Cochin in the small mobile run we have during the day while the others free-range, then open it in the evening to let the others back in?

 

[chknlittle17]

Bullying is frustrating but you can do something to stop it from continuing. Read through this https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/chicken-bully-chicken-victim-a-two-sided-issue.73923/ and we'll talk if you have any questions about this procedure.

That article is super helpful! I am having a similar issue with bullying.

 

[Mrs. K]

When people talk about free ranging, it means different things. But in my experience, bullying is generally space. If you got your birds 5 months ago, they are probably full size. What was enough space when they were small, may not be enough space now. Bullying often errupts at this age, due to these reasons. Some birds are highly intolerant of overcrowding. With chickens being raised together is a mute point.

Easy way to tell. Pull the victim. One of two thing will happen, if the flock relaxes, and tension eases, then that bird might just be one bird too many. However, sometimes you will have a very aggressive bird, and she will just pick a new victim. If so, she gets pulled out, try putting the victim back in. Sometimes a good time out will reset the balance, sometimes it won't. Sometimes you do get a bird that just does not fit in that flock with that set up.

I always solve for peace in the flock, a tension filled flock makes it unenjoyable for me. I hate seeing a bird being attacked.

Mrs K

 

[chknlittle17]

When people talk about free ranging, it means different things. But in my experience, bullying is generally space. If you got your birds 5 months ago, they are probably full size. What was enough space when they were small, may not be enough space now. Bullying often errupts at this age, due to these reasons. Some birds are highly intolerant of overcrowding. With chickens being raised together is a mute point.

Easy way to tell. Pull the victim. One of two thing will happen, if the flock relaxes, and tension eases, then that bird might just be one bird too many. However, sometimes you will have a very aggressive bird, and she will just pick a new victim. If so, she gets pulled out, try putting the victim back in. Sometimes a good time out will reset the balance, sometimes it won't. Sometimes you do get a bird that just does not fit in that flock with that set up.

I always solve for peace in the flock, a tension filled flock makes it unenjoyable for me. I hate seeing a bird being attacked.

Mrs K

I have two horrible bullies, a RIR and a Jersey giant pullet. A week ago they started beating up on our Polish and about scalped her. We removed her to let her heal, but now that her head is better reintroducing her is a problem. Right now I have all of the flock minus her in the small run and she has control of the larger run (18x9). In a few hours I am going to switch them. She'll roost in a separate area tonight. Tomorrow I am going to try to add a friend, our small, timid bantam to see if they get along. I just hope over time I can get them all together again. I don't plan to try to combine them until repairs on the coop and run are completed.

I know what happened to cause the bullying, I had to start closing the coop door because a few raccoons were desperately trying to break into my run. They didn't like not having access to the run and started beating up on the two smallest birds, with the Polish getting the brunt of the attacks. Once I get the electric wire up and the rest of the double layer fencing up, I can leave their coop open to the main run. I didn't realize that just changing one part of how we do things would freak the chickens out so badly.

 

[JazzyzGurl]

When people talk about free ranging, it means different things. But in my experience, bullying is generally space. If you got your birds 5 months ago, they are probably full size. What was enough space when they were small, may not be enough space now. Bullying often errupts at this age, due to these reasons. Some birds are highly intolerant of overcrowding. With chickens being raised together is a mute point.

Easy way to tell. Pull the victim. One of two thing will happen, if the flock relaxes, and tension eases, then that bird might just be one bird too many. However, sometimes you will have a very aggressive bird, and she will just pick a new victim. If so, she gets pulled out, try putting the victim back in. Sometimes a good time out will reset the balance, sometimes it won't. Sometimes you do get a bird that just does not fit in that flock with that set up.

I always solve for peace in the flock, a tension filled flock makes it unenjoyable for me. I hate seeing a bird being attacked.

Mrs K

I am with you - I want peace in the flock or it takes the joy out of it.

For my chickens free ranging means they get out of their run at about 7 am and have 4 acres of yard (and 70 acres of woods) to roam until dusk when they put themselves in for the night to roost ... so I really don't think this is about not having enough space.

 

[Mrs. K]

When I posted that, it is because some people think their back yard is free ranging. And when you said she would not leave the coop, they often won't do that if there is not enough space in the run.

But if you have that much space, and your victim bird won't leave the coop, then it is about personalities and size. And I don't see you changing that unless, you create a second flock with other similar birds, in a separate coop/run. Or you re-home the cochin into a flock with similar birds.

Some birds don't fit in some flocks.

Mrs K

 

[gclarrot]

My BO was a bully to my EEs when I first introduced them EXTREMELY slowly over three weeks. I let them out of the xlarge dog crate at week 6. I pulled the jerk out and put her in the dog crate, and gave her a few day time out. Re-released her, then she did it a few more times and i started giving her a nudge with my boots and placing her back in the crate when she acted up for a an hour or two at the time. It stopped after a couple of days.


This is what worked for me, and she still tends to peck the EEs if they come near her when shes eating but not nearly like what she was doing prior such as seeking them out to peck.


IF this was *my* lady and she was causing such disrupt in the flock i'd either rehome her or really give her some serious time outs away from the other girls for a week then asses the situation of rehome.