Girls picking on new girl

[chickaboo7]

This cochin came to us 2 weeks ago. Her head was bald when she came. My bigger girls are picking on and chasing her all the time. Is she a hen? Is she a bantam? Why are my girls being so witchy to her? We got 2 adult RR this week and they are doing fine.

 

[silkiechicken]

Give them some time, they will figure out the pecking order and it should calm down. She must look like a low one in the order. As long as they don't draw blood, I think you're ok.

 

[ella]

Yes, that's a hen, can't tell if she's a Bantam though.

The picking is normal pecking order stuff. She may be a naturally submissive low ranking hen and introducing one individual rather than a pair or group tends to be harder on the introductee, but things should settle down eventually.

Just make sure the others are not drawing blood and the new one is getting food and water and it'll work out.

The pecking order can be harsh, but it's part of being a chicken.

 

[chicken_love]

Our neighbor's chickens were picking on their new one. Actually, this happened three times. Twice, they blinded them, and once the chick actually died. I know that this isn't exactly optomistic, but you might want to keep a pretty close eye on the chicks until they calm down.