Have you ever had a hen who was just...BAD?

[shandiane78]

Or maybe she's misunderstood?

Whatever the reason, I've got a mean hen! She disrupts everybody and gets herself pecked too. The others have their pecking order, of course, but they seem to fall in line and nobody gets hurt. This hen, on the other hand, has to constantly peck/chase her underlings, as well as constantly getting herself pecked by her superiors. The other 6 can coexist and even eat treats together pretty peacefully, but when Bossy comes around, she drives the bottom 4 away, invades the space of the top two and starts a fight. I keep staring at her legs thinking maybe she'll sprout spurs!

Do you think it could be because she's the only one who came to us on her own? Or is she some kind of sociopath?!

One thing's for sure...If her behavior doesn't change, I wouldn't mind seeing her go.

Thanks,
Shannon

 

[chookook]

Maybe try taking her out of the flock for a while to bump her down in the pecking order when she's reintroduced?

 

[farmin'chick]

Came to you on her own....Hmmmm. Are you sure someone didn't come by and pitch her out of their truck to get her out of THEIR flock???

 

[shandiane78]

Actually, YES. I'm convinced the man who sold her to me did so because of personality defects!

 

[SproutGirl]

I have a bird like that. Frieda. She's the only one who goes broody, too. And each time she does, she comes back meaner. I'd get rid of her, but her sister is attached to her and won't lay eggs if she's not around.

Frieda chases everyone away from food, even if she doesn't want it--she'll chase the hens, and then ignore the food. When they come back to eat it, she'll chase them away again. She scatters the flock when they are grouped together. All of the other birds except for her sister are afraid of her. Even her grown up daughter is afraid of her--and the daughter is twice as big a Mom!

 

[Akane]

Yea... she's in the freezer now...

She was causing more trouble than the extra roos so when I butchered them we just did her too. Not worth the hassle and other beat up hens.