Chicken Drama and bullying please help!

[Lbittner]

I am at my wits end with my chicken! I have 4 hens that are 1 year and 2 months old. I got all 4 of them together at 2 weeks old. I am having serious bullying of 1 hen. It started with the top hen pecking at her. I’ve tried separating, adding toys/things to peck at, pinless peepers, letting the picked on hen free range while the others are in the coop. Nothing has worked, it’s just gotten worse. Now 3 hens chase her, pull feathers, they pecked open a spot on her back. I tried reintroducing after she healed but they chase and jump on top of her. I don’t know what else todo. Currently she is in a dog kennel in the garage. She lays eggs on the hay bale I have in there. I do let her out to free range during the day. I will add that the one getting pick on is also aggressive with us. She will case us. She puffs up her feathers, jumps, and pecks at my boots or legs. She has pecked my daughters arm and drew blood. What should I do with her?????

 

[BarredRockMom]

This is going to sound odd but could the bullied hen be ill? I ask because we had a peaceful flock and then out of the blue, one hen started getting chased & bullied. She was one of my original girls and getting up in age.

Turned out that within about 2 weeks, she fell noticibly ill & passed away. Sometimes chickens see things that we don't.

If she's not particularly nice to begin with and is aggressive, you can opt to re-home her in hopes that she will do better somewhere else, or keep her in view of but separated from the bullies (more work, sure, but she'll be safe), or cull her.

I don't say any of these things to be harsh & I don't suggest freezer camp--as a last option-- lightly. It's about peace in the flock & everyone's quality of life. (Talking about the hens, as they depend on you for a great deal of their quality of life whereas humans can fend for themselves.)

If you've tried working with her in hopes of taming her aggression toward you & it hasn't worked, perhaps someone else could weigh in with some better suggestions. My girls aren't lap chickens like my former flocks, but they're far from aggressive so perhaps there are other options that I haven't thought of?

Best of luck & I hope your hen comes out of this alright.

 

[Mamatomany123]

I had a hen like this. She started picking on everyone, attacking me, and made integration impossible for pur chicks qt the time. She was on a mission to kill them and would ram at the crate they were in. Once she started attacking me and biting me (not pecking, open mouth biting) I decided it was time for her to leave. A friend of mine took her in and she did great with a rooster and other hens. Lucky for her because she was about to be dinner.

 

[rosemarythyme]

For the peace of the flock, and for your family's sake, I'd rehome (with full disclosure of her issues) the problem bird, or invite her to dinner.

 

[Butchers Wife]

Craigslist or a cardboard sign on the telephone pole at your nearest intersection: 1 laying hen free to good home. It's a win-win

 

[ReelFaster]

That's really a shame and I never experienced a hen being a bully to that extent (not that I have much experience). I've seen a in few threads folks mentioning resetting the pecking order by isolating the troubling hen for a length of time and by re-introducing her she needs to establish herself again. Not sure if it would lead to her eventually becoming a bully again but it might be worth a try if you want to try and keep her. Best of luck!

 

[Lbittner]

Thank you everyone for the kind replies. I was worried that I did something wrong and failed chicken raising 101. Question - how does one re home a chicken? Where do you start? My daughter is so attached and this will be hard but I agree with what others said about there needs to be peace.

 

[Mamatomany123]

Thank you everyone for the kind replies. I was worried that I did something wrong and failed chicken raising 101. Question - how does one re home a chicken? Where do you start? My daughter is so attached and this will be hard but I agree with what others said about there needs to be peace.

Just list locally ( craigslist, Facebook, nextdoor) if you just want her gone then she'll go quick for.free. lots of people buy laying hens also.