Minasflockk
In the Brooder
- Nov 18, 2025
- 2
- 8
- 12
Helpp! I have one hen that won’t stop getting picked on!! Okk so this one is pretty long but i think all points here go back to when i first introduced my hen that is being bullied. At first before she came along, i had only 3 3weeks old hens. I know that it’s not really a big flock or preferred number but my mother received them as a gift and insisted we keep them for my younger siblings to have some pets. The way we found Ricky(the hen that is getting bullied, and yes not a suitable name but we love it) is because a cat had chased her an entire block down all the way to my neighbors house who luckiily was outside at that moment and shoed the cat away and got Ricky to safety. She called us out and we of course did not recognize her but she was pretty terrified and panting. Unfortunately since my family was really new to chickens, we made a big mistake when introducing her. We weren’t sure what to do with her and we placed her in a dog kennel for a day since she was too scared to go out. The next day, we let her free roam in out backyard with the other 3. There was no pecking towards her or chasing from the other hens, they just avoided her and wouldn’t let her eat from the feeders. We only had all 4 of them together for a month before a hawk came down and got to one of them. So from there, it was only 3. Thats where some issues started happening. They would start chasing ricky and sometimes jump at her. Of course she was still being chased away from the feeders. Still ricky has always been a very sweet girl and will always try to get near them and hang. We had them for an entire year until we moved but one hen got really really aggressive with the other two and we give her away instead. Now we have only a pair, Ricky and my other hen Pika. Pika has had one time where she hit ricky really bad, she was featherless from her head and one eye was shut halfway. We separated Ricky, and she healed perfectly. This time around i reintroduced her properly and had them visible, not accessible to each-other. It seemed to have worked for a bit. Pika and Ricky were just always together free roaming the backyard. She still chases her from the feeders. Since theres only 2 now, i have 3 feeders out there. Everything was okish until a couple weeks ago when i locked them up because i was going to be gone for atleast half the day. in their coop i have them separated by a door. Unfortunately, that day i was rushing and i forgot to lock it. Pika slammed through that door and got to the other side and when i came back, Ricky was featherless again but even worse now. She was bleeding from her wings, lower back, and head. It was so sad to see how bad she left her. I only had Ricky inside my house for a week so she can be separated and heal a little. Once i noticed she started growing her skin and feathers back, i let her outside. I have a mini house for them outside which has an upstairs and downstairs but definitely still walkable and they’re able to dig through the grass downstairs. To let Ricky outside, I place Pika in the house and ricky outside in the backyard. And vice versa when i let Pika out. They share half the day to go outside. So i have Ricky in the house in the mornings and in the afternoons Pika is in the house. I have been following this routine for them for the past 2 weeks. Rickys skin is still visible, one of the main reasons why i don’t want to place them together yet. As well, i noticed when Ricky is inside the home and digging in the grass, Pika still tries running up to her and pecking her through the wall. I don’t really know what to do from this point. I think maybe rehoming them is best since theres only 2?? But i’ve grown an attachment to them and so has my family we don’t want to let them go. I want to try anything possible before going for that option. If anyone knows what i can do in this situation pleasee let me know !!
