How big a jail and for how long for aggressive alpha hen?

[EdgeC]

I don't deal with issues because I solve them the old way... With a frying pan. Can always make a new hen. If you were close I would give you one. (NC)

 

[dawg53]

Sneaux seems to avoid me now unless I have treats. She has not bitten or pecked at me. If I touch her back she goes to the ground on her own, which is interesting. Those techniques seem to have worked, at least in getting her to recognize I outrank her.

She squats to be mated. Got a roo?

 

[EmmaDonovan]

She squats to be mated. Got a roo?

No, we aren't allowed to have roos here. I wish we could have one. A good roo might have kept everyone in line and stopped any bullying before it started. Our hens are so much louder than roos! Whoever instituted the no-rooster rule didn't know much about chickens.

We had a cockerel that was awesome but I had to cull him when he started crowing. I miss that guy. He was friendly to us and good to the pullets. He would likely have been a splendid rooster.

I'm looking forward to moving somewhere where we can have a rooster and free range the flock, maybe in a few more years.

 

[EmmaDonovan]

Today for the first time we got eggs from all three of the bullied hens. I'm taking that as another indicator they are doing well.

One of the Easter eggers is now at the bottom of the pecking order. I wanted to move her to The Inn with the others but she freaked out when I tried, so I left her with the flock thinking she'd be okay.

She's starting to get bald patches around her face. Tonight she was excluded from the corner cuddle pile that the flock sleeps in. She looked so sad and forlorn all by herself, I feel awful for her. She is sweet and friendly and our only blue egg layer.

She's also the only hen who doesn't have anyone in the flock who looks like her. All the others are paired off with another of the same breed, plus the three Bielefelders. We bought three Easter eggers hoping they'd all look similar but two turned out to be wheaten while she is all brown (those aren't my chickens, just examples).

 

[CHlCKEN]

I seriously laughed at the Snow to Sneaux development. Nice job there lol.

Looks like you may have already gotten the answers you need, but thought I’d pop in and tell you I know how frustrating this can be. I’ve also got a bully hen (though mine is just very territorial rather than dominant) and it’s a really annoying thing to deal with. Good luck.

 

[TJ]

First time I read this term,, had to look it up,
This is what I found......
View attachment 3973075

 

[EmmaDonovan]

This morning I built a small pen next to The Inn and put the bullied Easter egger in it. She stood very still for a few tense moments but she was just getting her bearings. The first thing she did was take a dust bath. Then she explored the nest box and made the shavings into a little nest although she didn't lay anything. She ate some feed and treats, then took another dust bath, trilling quietly to herself.

She seems very happy. I went in and out of the pen a few times and she didn't fly around or make a beeline for the door like she wanted to get out, she just kept doing what she was doing.

The three hens in The Inn were very curious and came over to watch the EE in her new small pen. That's good, I don't want the EE to feel isolated. There are other flock members right next to her where she can see and hear them but she has her own space where no one can bother her.

Edited to add: the EE really had a nice time. She took an hour-long dust bath and didn't even get up when I put some chopped mango and fresh greens into her food tray. Who doesn't love an uninterrupted bath? She didn't want to come out to go back to the coop with the rest of the flock for the night (her pen and The No Peck Inn aren't secure against nighttime predators).

The four hens who were being bullied now all have happy safe places for 10-12 hours every day.

I'll find out next week if adding 35 sq ft of space makes any difference in the flock dynamics.

Such drama! They're like teenagers, I swear.

 

[EmmaDonovan]

So much for that work done with Sneaux. She just crossed a line. She came at my face and tried to rip off one of my nostrils. That was no accident, that was an attack. Guess I have decision to make.

 

[dawg53]

Here's what you need; peepers including the pliers. Easy peasy and they work.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1563583885...2QkUFVIocUG9dj4o04yqoUvw==|tkp:Bk9SR_Ch7cjcZA

 

[EmmaDonovan]

Here's what you need; peepers including the pliers. Easy peasy and they work.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/156358388591?_skw=peepers+for+chickens&itmmeta=01JBJ8VA3GFD8YW6NGW8MWT687&hash=item2467afab6f:g:W7sAAOSwTaVmvvyD&itmprp=enc:AQAJAAAA8HoV3kP08IDx+KZ9MfhVJKnBau+djh2J2RLLs2SB11U6zOpJ87IRoUQVL0lep4aw+LstjLvwMRRKxezpVORL/YufyasOinWvRGdT0LN/56QahBY7+LFG7IPFZCRGPf0D5H7UKjnBodbyL+cnBrcnfm+Wx0/bEPZUzYGTB/F6++eD/SHE1z77oqMkVyPWjQpotAtYzI5GVK1IoJ1Oqm/7NfIjkqluYxRfGhkL4fNUT819VWzPU2itsF5I2TQSoUTH2DgBipXn5/8QjXhy7mJNljTD4bOPjXIKx39/y0Q4K62QkUFVIocUG9dj4o04yqoUvw==|tkp:Bk9SR_Ch7cjcZA

I'm considering it as a last resort. Before I moved the four hens back into the coop for the night I removed Sneaux and put her in one of the hospital cages. I didn't want to deal with another attack while moving around hens. Sneaux was pissed and threw a big fit in the hospital cage.

To put Sneaux back into the coop, I released her directly from the cage into the coop and she went CHARGING into the coop like a freakin' lion. That tiny white hen! Sheesh. She thinks she's a Lannister.