First boo-boo.....is it serious?

[ChickenHawk12]

I have 5 BO hens, hatched May 1, so I guess they are 9 months old. A few days ago, I observed for the first time one of them acting aggressively towards the others out in the run - running at them, jumping on them. She does it for a minute or so and then stops. I also found 2 eggs in the coop right outside the egg box, but figured maybe the 2 egg boxes were occupied and whoever laid them couldn't wait.

I just went out to collect eggs, and one of the hens was sitting on an egg on the coop floor right outside the egg box, and I noticed that the tip of her beak was gone, chipped off.

I checked the others for injuries, and couldn't see any. Is there anything I can/should do about this? Will it affect her ability to eat? What should I do if the aggressive one continues?

 

[CascadiaRiver]

A picture would be nice to check to see if it would be serious, but by the sound of it it should be okay, they're kinda like fingernails and grow back, just slowly (or maybe I just have a strange flock! Lol)

 

[roseyred]

Always remove the aggressor and put them in "jail". In my experience you never want to remove the one that has been hurt or is lowest on the totem pole as it only makes bullying worse. Separate the aggressor for about a week, somewhere small like a dog kennel and feed and clean it daily. After a week when they are reutroducrd into the flock they should not be top of the food chain anymore and it'll balance out the flock. Always always always separate the aggressor. Now if the beak break is making it hard for her to eat you can separate her BUT also separate the aggressor for twice the amount of time the injured chick is seperated. You can feed her scrambled eggs and soaked chicken feed so it's easier for her to eat. Pics would be very helpful