Hen Getting Aggressively Singled Out

[TheUrbanUndertaking]

I've started having an issue with one of my hens. I have 6 chickens in an Omlet Pro coop with a 6ft run (hoping to upgrade soon). They were all hatched on the same day, from the same hatchery, and have lived together perfectly fine for almost 6 months. All of a sudden, my Easter Egger (Agatha) relentlessly goes after my Salmon Faverolle (Alma).

I can understand pecking order behavior, she'll occasionally go after the others with a single, big peck, but lately Agatha's been trying to dive onto Alma, and even when she tries to get away, she'll keep stalking her until Alma runs back to me, continuing to hop on and peck at her.

This isn't entirely out of character for her, Agatha will sometimes go after one of the other girls when she seems to annoy her, but again, just one big peck, so the added severity on Alma is what concerns me. It started shortly after I brought Alma inside for about twenty minutes to get her feathers and feet cleaned, when I brought her back out was when I noticed the aggression. I've tried to let things 'play out,' but Alma took a bad turn when she was very little and doesn't move as well or as quickly as the others, and honestly is a bit of the baby in the flock.

When Agatha wouldn't stop, I brought Alma into the house for a day to give her some relief, but then read I should actually be isolating the aggressor, so Agatha was sentenced to 'bird jail' for four days. The minute I tried letting her in with the others, she immediately went for Alma and kept trying to pursue her. I've tried holding her gently into the ground, which I read some people do with aggressive roosters, but she'll get right up and try it again.

Agatha doesn't take nearly as well to the house as Alma does, who's perfectly content being indoors, and since she's not aggressive with the others, Alma's been inside for the last 3 days instead. I took her outside again and kept her in my lap to see what would happen, and the moment she was reintroduced, Agatha tried to attack again. So Alma is back to being a house bird.

This is my first time with chickens, and I've tried to do my own research on the situation, but I'm out of ideas. Agatha is so sweet to me (perching on my head, shoulders, and coming for cuddles) and gets along fine with everyone otherwise, but I don't want Alma to get beat up because of whatever is going on with their dynamic.

Any advice would be a huge help. Thank you!

 

[nuthatched]

Chickens will single out and kick out birds that act off for the good of the flock, since Alma is a little gimpy , she's a target. The small area likely doesn't help, a coop like that is only big enough for 3 birds.
You can rehome the aggressive bird but another may take her place.

 

[lagrange chicks]

I had a easter egger that had egg laying issues and the Rooster tried killing her a couple times so I culled him not knowing of her problem at that time. After the Rooster was gone the top pecking order hen was chasing her all the time, it was hectic. The sickness has taken the easter egger and now life is good with everyone in the flock of 6.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Chickens will single out and kick out birds that act off for the good of the flock, since Alma is a little gimpy , she's a target. The small area likely doesn't help, a coop like that is only big enough for 3 birds.
You can rehome the aggressive bird but another may take her place.

Agreed, an Omlet Pro is WAY too small for six standard sized chickens. Now that they're all approaching adult size and laying age (if they aren't already) they're getting on each others' nerves. Think of 7 kids packed into the back of a station wagon on a long car trip back in the 60's.

"Mom, he's LOOKING at me again!"

 

[TheUrbanUndertaking]

Thank you all for the advice! It definitely sounds like the girls need a coop expansion and we can see if that helps as a first step.

Very much appreciated (from all of us)!

 

[Perris]

Alma took a bad turn when she was very little and doesn't move as well or as quickly as the others, and honestly is a bit of the baby in the flock.

Agatha is trying to drive her away for the good of the flock. She's an obvious target that will attract predators, and is more likely than the others to get pests and diseases, any of which then threaten the health and lives of the rest. I would treat Alma as a special needs chicken rather than penalize Agatha for taking on the boss role.

 

[BDutch]

The underlying problem is probably largely a space/stress issue with not enough places to hide. Making the run a bit bigger is possibly not enough to solve the problem. Maybe you need to triple the run space, add clutter and need more coop space too? Add an extra food and water station out of sight?

Can you free range your chickens every day from sunrise till sunset?

Where do you live? Have you thought about winter?

 

[Chold05]

I've had 2 hens that were bullies over the years... The first hen I was able to correct with pinless peepers. A few years later, my other hen started targeting my lowest in the pecking order (who also happened to be my favorite hen) for no reason. She would jump on her back and relentlessly seek her out, even when free ranging. She was able to escape the pinless peepers, jail time did nothing for her behavior, I added stuff for them to hide behind, it wasn't a space issue, and nothing worked so I made the hard decision to rehome the bully. I was absolutely gutted, but the dynamic of the flock completely changed for the better. It's been several years since then, but my flock all gets along, there's no aggressive fighting like there was and I'm less stressed, too.

 

[TheUrbanUndertaking]

Agatha is trying to drive her away for the good of the flock. She's an obvious target that will attract predators, and is more likely than the others to get pests and diseases, any of which then threaten the health and lives of the rest. I would treat Alma as a special needs chicken rather than penalize Agatha for taking on the boss role.

I really appreciate this perspective, thank you! When I first saw her attacking, it had me a bit shaken up, but that makes so much sense from a flock mentality.

 

[TheUrbanUndertaking]

The underlying problem is probably largely a space/stress issue with not enough places to hide. Making the run a bit bigger is possibly not enough to solve the problem. Maybe you need to triple the run space, add clutter and need more coop space too? Add an extra food and water station out of sight?

Can you free range your chickens every day from sunrise till sunset?

Where do you live? Have you thought about winter?

Definitely want to give them more space regardless, but Alma has a harder time getting around in general. Most days she'll be puddled somewhere and doesn't move around nearly as much. What @Perris mentioned was dead on, I think it's time to admit she's more of a special needs chicken. Which honestly is a bit of a relief since I'm constantly worried about her getting stepped on and jostled around on a normal day.

I live in a neighborhood, so I can't free range at the moment. All the girls should be able to tolerate winter (cold hardy for Michigan), but Alma's well-being had been a concern and very likely she'd get brought inside anyway.