Hen keeps getting bullied! Help!

[HannahL]

Hi all! I have a Golden Laced Wynadotte hen that has been being bullied by my other hens (Buff Brahma, Barred Plymouth Rock, Lavender Orpington and a Partridge Olive Egger) They have been pecking at her feet until it draws blood and she is limping heavily. They also sometimes grab at her neck feathers. I have tried separating her and then reintroducing her once her feet are healed, removing the main bully, and covering the wounds in BlueKote to get rid of the red color, and nothing is working. The other four get along wonderfully and their outdoor pen is 7x8x48 with a smaller add-on. Do you have any tips on how to get them to be nicer to her? Any help would be greatly appreciated as this hen (her name is Poppy for anyone wondering) is just the sweetest thing in the world. She doesn't deserve all this bullying and she is one of my friendliest girls.

 

[sourland]

How long has this been going on ? It almost sounds as if it is more than a pecking order situation and has become habit. She may need her own pen/coop.

 

[Brady bunch]

Our chickens peck on our one chicken and treat him like the runt as well. One idea may be to put a chicken wire mini run inside of a big run. This makes sure the chicken isn’t lonely and it makes sure he stays safe.

 

[HannahL]

How long has this been going on ? It almost sounds as if it is more than a pecking order situation and has become habit. She may need her own pen/coop.

It's been going on since at least May. I just feel so bad leaving her all alone like that, especially since she's so social. Do you think getting her a friend would work? I was thinking that maybe introducing two instead of one might keep her from being singled out but I'm not sure if it would work.

 

[HannahL]

Our chickens peck on our one chicken and treat him like the runt as well. One idea may be to put a chicken wire mini run inside of a big run. This makes sure the chicken isn’t lonely and it makes sure he stays safe.

I tried doing that and then reintroducing her but the problem persisted. Maybe just keeping her in a separate pen is a good idea. At least she wouldn't be totally alone that way. What do you think about getting a sixth chicken just for her and then introducing the two of them to the others?