HELP! Super bullied chickens

[CelestialChicks]

Hey all!

I have five chickens and two of them are getting very bullied. The bullied hens are all cochin bantams and the chickens that bully are very heavy breeds (new hampshire, brahma and blue andalusian). It getting to the point where they will basically jump on the cochins back and hold on to their heads very aggressively!

I suspect this has to do with the fact that the rest of the hens are basically three times bigger than the cochin bantams but what should I do now?!

Please, all help is appreciated.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Get rid of the Cochin, They are a very docile breed and being bantam too it's not a good mix for your flock.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

x2. Rehome them, or build them a separate coop.

 

[aart]

Did you just get all these chickens?
Have some already and then just add others?
How much space do they have to live in?

More info would be needed for a viable suggestion.

 

[CelestialChicks]

I got them all at the same time a year ago! Two of the bigger ones I bought as young pullets and the three other (cochins and new hampshire) I got when they were around 5 weeks and they were all brooder mates and got along great until size started to differ between them and the new hampshire would pick on them and hang with the other big chickens and then everyone would aggressively pick on them! Their coops is pretty big, it's able to house 25 chickens and I only got 5. However their run could be bigger I guess, it's about 2m x 6m so about 12 square meters! And sometimes I let them go out to free range in the yard for an hour or so but the picking still happen outside of the run.

Thanks for all the responses!

 

[slordaz]

I will see how my mixed flock does got them with in a 2 day span a week ago 7 chicks in total, and one is a bantam that was given to us, but we have a duckling about same age but a lot bigger that is kinda acting like a momma hen to the little chicks and between the duckling and us discouraging bullies they all seem to get along really well took one time out was all.The chicks though different breeds are supposed to be pretty docile and dual purpose.

So I would have to go with you either need to do a second coup or re-home one side of that argument and get more that are closer to same temperament

but then again I am like a newbie, it's been many years since I have had a flock

we have 1 orpington, the other one tried to be a duck and drowned in the middle of the night
3 barred rock
1 bantam white silkie

 

[poult]

They sound bored.They need more things to distract them like treats or toys with mealworms in the inside give them a challenge but still make it easy enough they don't lose interest.Make several spots for them so they can break into groups so they bullied ones can enjoy the fun too.Are they eating any feathers that are lost when the bullied birds get beat up? My turkey didn't have enough protein and she would beat up the flock members because it caused them to lose a few feathers each time she wasn't a direct feather picker to be a big noticeable problem but it was enough to make me question her diet.What do you feed them? If it's just regular layer feed 16% protein I'd give them a little extra protein.Buy a bunch of crickets at the pet store if you want and that can give them something to do and give them more protein.But you still want toys or treats around after you leave so they don't get bored again.I got what was called a flock block at Tractor Supply it's pretty much a big block of compressed seeds.But it is extremely entertaining for my birds to pick at.It wasn't to be used as feed just a treat and so they still have there regular food off to the side.It could be broken into big chunks too so you could put a few blocks of it in different areas of the coop.This is just my opinion on your problem you may do what ever you like of course though

 

[slordaz]

We tried adding into the coop a live willow tree and shells on a sting and other things to keep them occupied when inside which didn't help at all. So built a jail in the coup for ones that needed time out worked wonders in just a day since adding a hanging covered water bucket with 4 watering nipples that the baby duck showed the chickens how to use, and a wooden ladder was the big hit with them inside the coop. We are digging to plant trees and vegetable and ended up with a big piece of Sod in the run and they all seem to really enjoy playing on that, They are quite used to us changing things around though and being in with the chicks while doing it and even just moving stuff around makes them check the new stuff out.

We leave fermented food which has added benefits and increases the amount of nutrients that are actually available to them including protein, it ups the 18 % to more like 22 if i remember right, and dry food with them at all times so they have choices, and when we are taking a break will give them fresh veggie or a treat that has seeds in it

Chicks are naturally curious about anything new or what the duck is doing , and if one gets put in the jail in the coop it seemed to be more effective as the other chicks decided on a new pecking order really quickly, but then again we are raising them from chicks without an established flock. They seem more ready to accept new members now too but it's taken us about a month but so far have had to do separations once in the brooding pen and once in the coup in a months time.

All you can do is try to teach them to not be bullies we did watch them closely to make sure they were behaving when they were let out of the jail, but there are a bunch of different ideas and your just gonna have to decide what works for you and your flock and then see what actually helps helps.