Chicken bully!

[Multigirl87]

Hello! I am new here and new to having chickens! I have 2 barred rocks, 2 golden laced Wyandottes, and 2 silver laced Wyandottes. I got them all re-homed to me about a month ago. They took a little while to settle in, and everything was going good. 1 of the GLW’s was stress-molting when I got her (ours was her third home) and all the chickens came from the same farm. I noticed recently that the 2nd GLW was also losing feathers, and that the new feathers coming in on 1st one were being pulled out. I separated them last night and put them in a dog kennel next to the coop. I then moved them to another kennel in the yard (they all free range in the backyard all day) this morning. They looked very calm and relaxed and were eating and drinking great. I went out to check on everybody this morning and one of my BR’s was chasing a different chicken! I told her to stop and immediately she chased another one! So I put the bully in the kennel instead! She in NOT happy. Pacing. Whining. Generally displeased. All of the other chickens are very calm now and going about their business. How long do I keep her caged to teach her a lesson? A day? A week or more? Does that usually work? Or if she still keeps being a jerk will we have to eat her?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Caging them doesn't teach them a lesson. It can mess up the pecking order causing more fighting. How big is your set up?

Crowded birds often with fight and pull feathers. What are you feeding them? Low protein can cause aggression too. Sharing more of your set up and feed could help to figure out why they are aggressive.

 

[Multigirl87]

Thank you! Ok, I feed them Purina layer crumbles with oyster shells. It is always available in the coop. There are water stations in the coop, run and backyard. The coop is about 20sf of floor space. I let them out each morning into the run which is about 15’x30’. Then I immediately open the run into the backyard which is about 50’x120’. They are not crowded. The only time I keep them in the run is when we have neighbor kids over or my hubby is mowing the lawn. The picking is being done a lot at night. There are two 4’ roost boards made out of 2x6’s with the flat side up. There are three nest boxes and they use only two. I give them some boss daily to help with protein for feathers and make sure everyone gets some.

 

[Coop de Grass]

It sound like 20 sq ft is a bit small for 6 standard hens based on the recommended 4 sq ft per chicken in the coop. You have lots of run space and the backyard area as well.

The roosts in your coop are wide at 6". If you check BYC, I think that you will find that 2x4 is most recommended with the flat side up.

My suggestion is that you get Peepers. I had a bully in my first flock. We put peepers on her and the bullying stopped. We left them on her for a couple of months, and when we removed them she was no longer aggressive. Probably because she was demoted in the pecking order!

If you search for Pinless Peepers on Amazon, Ebay, or just on Google, you will find them easily. They are easy to put on and easy to remove - you will need a friend to hold the chicken while you put them on. Good luck!!

 

[Multigirl87]

Thank you. I’ll get some!

 

[aart]

Caging them doesn't teach them a lesson. It can mess up the pecking order causing more fighting.

The idea of caging the bully is to lower her place in the pecking order when reintroduced and to break the habit of pecking, at least temporarily. It can work, tho not always.
It can also help to see if all the other birds are getting along.

The situation here with newly acquired birds, that may have been rehomed to due to problems(like aggression) adds to the equation. This bully bird may have to go back to the farm.

 

[Coop de Grass]

The idea of caging the bully is to lower her place in the pecking order when reintroduced and to break the habit of pecking, at least temporarily. It can work, tho not always.
It can also help to see if all the other birds are getting along.

@aart Good to know. I forgot what happens when you reintroduce hens that have been in the sick bay.

 

[Coop de Grass]

If you search for Pinless Peepers on Amazon, Ebay, or just on Google, you will find them easily. They are easy to put on and easy to remove - you will need a friend to hold the chicken while you put them on. Good luck!![/QUOTE]

Here is Onyx wearing her peepers.

 

[Multigirl87]

Thank you everyone for your help! I will get some peepers today.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

The idea of caging the bully is to lower her place in the pecking order when reintroduced and to break the habit of pecking, at least temporarily. It can work, tho not always.
It can also help to see if all the other birds are getting along.

The situation here with newly acquired birds, that may have been rehomed to due to problems(like aggression) adds to the equation. This bully bird may have to go back to the farm.

It is used often on here as a cure, when in fact it only changes the dynamics temporarily. It is good for situations where the aggression is from something temporary like surging hormones in pullets, but I don't think long term it does anything but makes them bicker more until everyone gets back to their original place in the order. I personally haven't tried, so I can't say for sure, just my thoughts on what I know about chicken behaviors.

Aggression 99% of the time is from lack of space and boredom. If birds can get away from each other like they can in my flock, aggression is never an issue. The 1% is from a protein deficiency. That I have seen when I used to feed a layer and was heavy on the scratch. I have seen birds cannibalize dead birds, and on occasion each other. I no longer see any of that with a higher protein feed and a lighter hand with the scratch.

The one time many years ago I confined my free range flock for a few weeks and they started pecking each other, and actually pecked a polish roosters head open. I haven't confined them since.

Chickens need room, room, and more room in my opinion. Certain breeds need it even more than others. So if space is limited the choice of breeds needs to be considered.