- Oct 5, 2010
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I have 5 chickens and the lowest in the flock is getting severely picked on. The head hen seems to pick on all of them and they all have varying levels of feather loss, but the lowest one is so scared she won't leave the coop. She also seems pretty thin and is missing feathers everywhere. The second-in-line is also getting in on the bullying. A little back story: we had 6 but had to cull the lowest one b/c of a prolapsed egg tract. Now since that one is gone, it seems the now lowest chicken is getting it even worse. The middle chickens all also have feather loss but the head chicken looks perfect. So my question is: do I isolate the meanest chicken or the one getting picked on the most? I'm worried that if I put the mean hen in jail, the second-in-line will just take over the bullying. I have a large dog crate which will only fit in the run. Is it stressful for one to be alone at night when the rest are in the coop? Thanks in advance!!
UPDATE:
So, a week with my head chicken in isolation hasn't really helped the issue. The lowest chicken is still hiding in the coop. As I had feared the now head chicken has taken over the bullying. however, the remaining 4 do sleep together in one of the unused nest boxes at night. My options are: crate both chickens separately for another week (I have another dog crate) or I have a friend who will take the lowest chicken and hopefully her chickens will be nicer to her. My concern with this option is that the one who will then become the lowest will start getting beat on. My other concern is with the bullying that has been going on all summer 3 of the 5 have large bald spots on their backs and elsewhere (like 3x1 inches). Will they be warm enough over the winter? I'm in the foothills of CO and it gets pretty cold. Any help would be appreciated!!!!!
UPDATE:
So, a week with my head chicken in isolation hasn't really helped the issue. The lowest chicken is still hiding in the coop. As I had feared the now head chicken has taken over the bullying. however, the remaining 4 do sleep together in one of the unused nest boxes at night. My options are: crate both chickens separately for another week (I have another dog crate) or I have a friend who will take the lowest chicken and hopefully her chickens will be nicer to her. My concern with this option is that the one who will then become the lowest will start getting beat on. My other concern is with the bullying that has been going on all summer 3 of the 5 have large bald spots on their backs and elsewhere (like 3x1 inches). Will they be warm enough over the winter? I'm in the foothills of CO and it gets pretty cold. Any help would be appreciated!!!!!
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