HELP! War in the coop…

[Saj4208]

So I’ve got an issue with 2 of my silkies. The white one attacked the ginger one last week and drew blood and destroyed her eye. The ginger one has been quarantined in a cage in the coop since, but we have let her out (while we are standing there only) and both the white one and ginger one immediately fight every time and run straight at each other. Neither one of them do this to any of the other chickens I have. They just absolutely despise each other. Can we get past this? Are they going to have to be separated forever? I am at my wits end.

 

[coach723]

Are you sure they are she's and not he's? How old are they? I'm lousy at sexing silkies, so hopefully someone who knows them better will chime in.

 

[Saj4208]

Are you sure they are she's and not he's? How old are they? I'm lousy at sexing silkies, so hopefully someone who knows them better will chime in.

As far as i know they are both hens. We purchased them and were told they were 6-9 months old at the time so im guessing they are close to a year now. These are my first silkies so im not sure. I know the ginger one forsure is a hen, ive seen her lay an egg with my own 2 eyes lol!

 

[TropicalBabies]

How big is your coop and run? How many chickens? Was there any aggression b4 leading up to or was it sudden? Maybe locked in with weather change kind of thing?
Can you take photos of your roosting situation?

 

[Saj4208]

How big is your coop and run? How many chickens? Was there any aggression b4 leading up to or was it sudden? Maybe locked in with weather change kind of thing?
Can you take photos of your roosting situation?

The Coop that they sleep in is 12'x15' roughly and is inside a large pole barn. It has roosting bars on both sides of it and nesting boxes. During the day i let them out to have free range of the entire pole barn. Right now we have 9 chickens. We used to let them free range our 4 acres, but we lost 4 chickens due to hawks so ive been keeping them inside the barn for now. I did notice these 2 squabbling a bit here and there but nothing major up until this most recent attack.

 

[TheCluckyClucker2]

Poor things. I am not sure what to do but I am watching.

 

[smdcleland]

Does one initiate or do they both attack each other? I know there is a way to reset the pecking order.

 

[TropicalBabies]

Can you figure out who is the aggressor? Sounds like the white one? After brown one heals and can be safely out in the flock w/o getting pecked by others I'd lock up and remove the white one for 4-6 days. I know it sounds mean but maybe that will knock her down a few pegs as she will lose seniority. It's a bit of a long shot because this thing got so bloody but it is worth a try. Other than that you may want to start making plans to rehome one. Sometimes that is a fantastic solution for all involved. ♡♡♡ keep us posted

 

[Saj4208]

Does one initiate or do they both attack each other? I know there is a way to reset the pecking order.

It seems like they both want to initiate it. However the white one seems to be doubly aggressive now, following this attack.