Hen Bullying and Feather Plucking

[AverageJess]

I went ahead and built a separate area for Violet. They can still somewhat interact through the fence, but at least they can't get at her now. I'll keep her in there at least until her feathers grow back and see how it goes. If I need to buy a separate little coop and keep her in there forever then I guess that's what I'll do, so long as that's not considered cruel from a social perspective.

 

[AverageJess]

Do an on site search on Pin Less Peepers. They can be utilized to break this habit.

Thank you so much!! I'm pretty new to having chickens and I've never heard of these. Just placed an order for some and cannot wait to see how things go.

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC.

First question, how much space is there in the coop and in the run?

While crowding does not necessarily *cause* bullying, it is very often at least a major contributing factor when bullying occurs.

The Usual Guidelines
For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

@rosemarythyme's info about the quality of the space is important too.

Please do give us photos and dimensions of your coop and run so that we can help you set up for long-term success.

 

[Auntiejessi3]

X3 on pics of your setup

 

[annageckos]

Try adding some stuff to break up line of sight. Plywood, logs, lawn deco. Anything, it really doesn't matter what.

 

[Iluveggers]

I wonder if you could take the isolation pen, put it up against your coop, take one side wall off the coop, and attach the pen to that side. Then cover the isolation pen with plywood or a wind-breaking tarp (leaving some ventilation at the top.) So kind of sticking the two together in some way. You could add another roost bar on the pen side. That would give another 16 sq feet or so to the coop which would be so much more room. I hope this makes sense!

 

[AverageJess]

Try adding some stuff to break up line of sight. Plywood, logs, lawn deco. Anything, it really doesn't matter what.

Never would have thought of this. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[AverageJess]

This is my run from before the new coop was finished. There is no place inside it where I could stand and see everything and it was even more broken up from chicken height.

View attachment 3015113

Very nice, so many hiding spots! Thanks for more inspiration.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Update: I've added a lot more clutter to the run and I think it's coming along nicely. Also added another feeder and waterer on opposite ends of the run as well as a larger dirt/dust bath area. Unfortunately they still pluck Violet's butt feathers every time they start sprouting back so her giant bald spot persists. Honestly I'm kinda terrified to take Peach's peepers off because she may go ham on Violet's bald spot again and cause another gory injury. I'd love for her feathers to grow back in so I'll feel comfortable enough to try taking the peepers off. I hate leaving them on so long. Any opinions or suggestions?

They haven't been shut in the coop at night for a long while now that we're having warmer weather, so I don't think coop size is currently an issue, though I'm still brainstorming what to do for next fall/winter. Would it be a bad idea to get another small coop and just have two separate coops? Or is modifying my current coop the best option?

Looks much better in terms of breaking up the space.

As far as the peepers, you can leave them on for a while as far as I know, as long as you check them regularly for any caused irritation or damage.

Not sure how realistic it is to modify your coop to make it larger, given the style, unless you're planning on blowing out a wall or something? A 2nd coop may or may not work out - in some cases the birds will ignore one coop and all stuff into the other, whereas in other cases they will split up and use both. Hard to say what will happen if you try it with your flock.

 

[AverageJess]

Looks much better in terms of breaking up the space.

As far as the peepers, you can leave them on for a while as far as I know, as long as you check them regularly for any caused irritation or damage.

Not sure how realistic it is to modify your coop to make it larger, given the style, unless you're planning on blowing out a wall or something? A 2nd coop may or may not work out - in some cases the birds will ignore one coop and all stuff into the other, whereas in other cases they will split up and use both. Hard to say what will happen if you try it with your flock.

Thanks! Good to know. Yeah it might be tricky to modify. I'd hate to buy a whole other coop only to find out they don't use it though. I may just have to save up for a new, bigger coop. :/