I have two Sebright hens that I keep together in a small coop in my backyard. Last week, I took one of them to show at the fair and she stayed there for a week. The other who got left behind has had me flying out of bed at 6AM every morning due to her insane crowing to throw her in a cage in the garage until around noon. I assumed that it was separation anxiety. Noisy chickens are one of the biggest issues at my place, due the fact that we live in a residential area where chickens may or may not be allowed. When I brought the other one back from the fair, I was eager to get everything back to normal as it was before. No such luck. They looked fine when I put them back together, but when I checked on them again that afternoon, the hen who was left behind had been severely beaten up, with feathers plucked from the back of her head and neck and left bloody and she had also not been allowed to leave the nesting area of the coop, per the demands of the other hen, and was eating and drinking ravenously when we took her bully away.
For the past couple days, I have had to keep each of them in a separate cage in the garage, because if only one was alone in the coop, they would start crowing. My mom is losing her patience very quickly and is very close to making me get rid of them. Today, I put one in the coop and another in a guinea pig cage right up against the coop to hopefully get them back on good terms again.
Has anyone ever had to deal with a similar situation before or has any advice on how to handle this?
For the past couple days, I have had to keep each of them in a separate cage in the garage, because if only one was alone in the coop, they would start crowing. My mom is losing her patience very quickly and is very close to making me get rid of them. Today, I put one in the coop and another in a guinea pig cage right up against the coop to hopefully get them back on good terms again.
Has anyone ever had to deal with a similar situation before or has any advice on how to handle this?