Chicken getting bullied. Need Help

[ChickenNoobster]

Hi I have 5 14 month old ameraucana. One of my chickens is getting bullied and being continuously pecked on the back of her neck. I have also seen that she rarely interacts with the other 4 chickens. She comes out of the coop last and enters the coop at least 30 minutes before the other chickens do every night. She sleeps in the nesting box. Other than her social life she seems very healthy to me.

I have a few questions. She is missing almost all of her tail feathers. Do you think she is just molting (all my other chickens have their tail feathers) or is her feathers being picked out by the other birds. Is this serious and should i do anything about this? Should I let her sleep in the nesting box at night (I have 2 nesting boxes, but I think she sleeps in the one that all the chickens like to lay in) or should I move her onto the roost.

Thank you alot.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

She's probably bottom hen. How big is your coop? Generally bottom birds need to stay 5-10 feet away or they get pecked. In smaller set ups they can't get away.

It's possible she's molting. I would try to observe them to see if you see any feather pulling.

What are you feeding?

 

[ChickenNoobster]

Thanks for the input. The coop is relatively small. It's just one I found off amazon, but it can definitely fit them all some extra room to spare. I feed them the normal Scratch and Peck layer feed.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Your bottom hen cannot get away than in the coop. That's why she sleeps in the nestboxes. I personally would leave her there because she won't be allowed by the others unfortunately.

If you see feather picking and eating they may have a protein deficiency. Generally switching to a higher protein ration will help.

If they are pulling feathers just to try to chase her off, than all you can do is try to give them more space.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Oh, and welcome to BYC.

 

[ChickenNoobster]

Is there a way to get my chickens to eat the protein?? They usually just leave that in the feeder and only eat the seeds. They are so picky.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Is there a way to get my chickens to eat the protein?? They usually just leave that in the feeder and only eat the seeds. They are so picky.

Ferment or at least wet the feed, so the protein sticks to the seeds. It'll also prevent them from picking out only the grains they want.

Getting more protein into their diet is unlikely to be enough to solve the bullying. It'd really help to see a photo of your layout, both coop and run. Adding more space or adding stuff to the space goes a long way in reducing the tension.

 

[aart]

The coop is relatively small. It's just one I found off amazon, but it can definitely fit them all some extra room to spare.

Please post a pic of coop, inside and out.
Pics of feather loss would be good too.
Here's some guides for posting pics and navigating forum:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/announcements-feedback-issues-guides.3/?prefix_id=3

Oh, and...Welcome to BYC! @ChickenNoobster
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Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
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[Aunt Angus]

Hi! My bottom hen used to sleep in the nesting boxes, too. I allowed it for a bit, but got tired of cleaning it out every day. I tried adding a second roost, but she wasn't interested. I even added a 4th box just for her. Nope. She preferred the main nesting boxes, and she would sleep in different ones. I would have to look in all of them everyday to figure out which needed cleaning, and I got poopy eggs on occasion if I missed something or if she managed to foul up two nesting boxes in the course of a night.

So, for a while there, I took her out of the nexting box and put her on the roost. I found an "order" on the roost that worked. I just needed to keep her away from the top hen. Of course, I only have 5 in the main coop, so that was pretty easy to do. Now she is on the roost with the other girls every night with no assistance from me.