- Aug 9, 2009
- 10
- 0
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Hi gang! I'm in Tucson, AZ and I have a red sex-link ( named Pollo- "ll" pronounced as a "y") in with 2 ameruacanas, 2 buffs, 1 rhode island red, 1 barred rock and another red sex-link. They are all the same age. The run is roughly 22ft long by 10 wide, they have an ample coop, and have been laying like champs for roughly 3 months. I've had to separate out 2 hens due to bloody back ends near vent. The discovery was AWFUL! This morning I actually witnessed Pollo pecking at the rear end feathers of my barred rock. Just following her around waiting for a chance to nail her, so I know she's at least ONE of the culprits. All my hens look like sh** with feathers pecked clean off back or broken down 1/2 on shaft so there might be other guilty parties. Actually, Pollo has broken feathers too so I know she's not the only one engaging in this behavior. But my question is, has anyone ever separated out a particularly nasty (dominant?) hen and successfully reintroduced her later to find the nasty behavior has stopped?
I realize I have 2 problems here: general feather pecking and the nasty dominant hen. I had feather pecking with my last flock of 6 so I'm obviously doing something wrong, but I continue to read up on that subject here and try new things/change things. My main concern right now is do I need to get rid of my nasty hen or can I somehow remove/curb the dominance by separation?
Thank you ahead of time for your consideration of my problem.
Jen
I realize I have 2 problems here: general feather pecking and the nasty dominant hen. I had feather pecking with my last flock of 6 so I'm obviously doing something wrong, but I continue to read up on that subject here and try new things/change things. My main concern right now is do I need to get rid of my nasty hen or can I somehow remove/curb the dominance by separation?
Thank you ahead of time for your consideration of my problem.
Jen