Hen bulling one specific hen....HELP

[NewChickenmama06]

I have a 3 year old Australorp black star mixed hen who is bulling one of our 1 year old hens. She picks on other hens as well, but really has a dislike for this poor girl. To the point, the hen being bullied only seems peaceful when free ranging(now we can't even do that with the increased numberof hawks), but even then she gets picked on. She is super skittish even more then she was. You can tell she isn't eating as much as the others either.To make it worse, the rooster is over mating her (second saddle he tore through). Not sure what to do with the mean hen. We have 17 hens and one rooster. They coop is a 10x16 shed and the run is 10x20.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Try separating the bully hen from the flock for a week or two, then return her. This is to reset her spot in the pecking order. If she continues to bully, put Pinless Peepers on her so she can't see the other hen to peck (this helped slow my bully hen down).

On your bullied hen, what breed is she? Has this always been a problem? When she was added to the flock, was she added with others of similar breed and/or age?

On the issue with the rooster, trim back both his nails and spurs. If he's going through saddles, the saddles are either made out of the wrong materials or his spurs are way too long and sharp.

 

[NewChickenmama06]

Try separating the bully hen from the flock for a week or two, then return her. This is to reset her spot in the pecking order. If she continues to bully, put Pinless Peepers on her so she can't see the other hen to peck (this helped slow my bully hen down).

On your bullied hen, what breed is she? Has this always been a problem? When she was added to the flock, was she added with others of similar breed and/or age?

On the issue with the rooster, trim back both his nails and spurs. If he's going through saddles, the saddles are either made out of the wrong materials or his spurs are way too long and sharp.

Bully hen is half Australorp and half black star (Rhode Island Red/Bar Rock). She was hatched in a incubator, but placed under a broody hen that night. So mom introduced her. She has always had a mean way to her.

 

[Mrs. K]

I don't think you like the bully hen, and that is ok. Sell her. Now is another hen steps up and becomes the bully to the same victim, sell the victim.

But always solve for peace in the flock.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Bully hen is half Australorp and half black star (Rhode Island Red/Bar Rock). She was hatched in a incubator, but placed under a broody hen that night. So mom introduced her. She has always had a mean way to her.

Sorry about the misunderstanding. I was talking about the hen who is getting bullied- the one year old hen. The breeds of the bully hen is enough to tell me what she's like. (Black Stars can be more aggressive and often hang high in the pecking order.)

 

[NewChickenmama06]

Try separating the bully hen from the flock for a week or two, then return her. This is to reset her spot in the pecking order. If she continues to bully, put Pinless Peepers on her so she can't see the other hen to peck (this helped slow my bully hen down).

On your bullied hen, what breed is she? Has this always been a problem? When she was added to the flock, was she added with others of similar breed and/or age?

On the issue with the rooster, trim back both his nails and spurs. If he's going through saddles, the saddles are either made out of the wrong materials or his spurs are way too long and sharp.

Ugh, I just reread your question, I thought you were asking about the bully, not the bullied. So she is half buff Orpington and a mix of black star and Australorp. She was hatched by a broody hen last year with two others that this mean hen picks on, but not as much as cupcake(the bullied) for whatever reason.

 

[NewChickenmama06]

I don't think you like the bully hen, and that is ok. Sell her. Now is another hen steps up and becomes the bully to the same victim, sell the victim.

But always solve for peace in the flock.

Lol how did you guess! No I'm not fond of her or who I believe is her mother, who is a nasty old hen herself. Only reason for keeping mom is she was part of my original flock and she just picks on everyone equally. I am going to see if the local shelter will take her.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Ugh, I just reread your question, I thought you were asking about the bully, not the bullied. So she is half buff Orpington and a mix of black star and Australorp. She was hatched by a broody hen last year with two others that this mean hen picks on, but not as much as cupcake(the bullied) for whatever reason.

That's ok; I do that all the time. How old was she and her siblings when they were added? What was the integration like and setup? On size, does she take more after the Orpington or the Australorp/BSL side? She may just be getting bullied more due to being at the bottom of the pecking order. Resetting your pecking order by separating your bully for a time may be the best thing to do, but boosting the bullied hen's confidence will help her with the rest of the flock.

 

[Mrs. K]

No I'm not fond of her or who I believe is her mother, who is a nasty old hen herself. Only reason for keeping mom is she was part of my original flock and she just picks on everyone equally. I am going to see if the local shelter will take her.

Sell both of them! Your reason for keeping her, them, is not reason enough. Don't ever keep a bird you don't like. They might work out just fine in someone else's flock.

AND then, well then you have room for chicks!

I believe in keeping a flock, but birds come into my flock and go out of my flock. I do have Gramma Feathers, who has raised countless chicks for me, and is setting now. She gets to stay until the end, but the others, they can become soup, or help someone else who needs a hen.

Mrs K

 

[Ridgerunner]

I agree. Separate that older hen for a week or more to see if that resets her position in the flock. Sometimes that works, sometimes it does not.

Pay attention to that 1-year-old while the older is gone. Sometimes the problem is the one being picked on. There have been a few times I've reestablished peace in the flock by removing what some people perceive as the victim.

The older hen is bullying three younger hens, one worse than the others but still all three. The younger is barebacked enough to need a saddle. You have 17 hens, certainly not a hen to rooster ratio issue.

You barely meet that magic ratio of 10 square feet in the run for each chicken. You said you used to free range but do not because of hawks. Have the problems gotten worse since they have been locked in that run? You may be overcrowded. Getting rid of one or more may make a noticeable difference. I find that crowding can make behavior problems worse.