How long until my 2 hens are best buddies?

[Henrik Petersson]

I have a flock of 9 Bovan (brown layer hybrid) hens and an Araucana rooster. 8 of the hens + the rooster have started bullying one of the hens - they chase her off whenever she gets near, and now she flees whenever they approach.

To solve this, I thought I'd use the following approach:
- Isolate the victim.
- Buy new hens and put with the victim.
- After some time, when the victim and the new hens are best friends, put the victim + the new hens with the old flock. Now the victim will have some friends to hang out with.

I only managed to find 1 new hen, a lovely Orpington/Marans mix, named Gullviva (cowslip in Swedish). We put Gullviva and the bullied hen in the duck coop (the ducks never use it anyway). It has worked out okay. Gullviva has been doing a loud complaining sound quite a lot, I guess she misses her old flock. Also, the bullied hen occasionally pecks att Gullviva (that seems like normal settling of the pecking order, not bullying), and won't let her eat when I hand feed them. The bullied hen and Gullviva hang out though. Occasionally the lay in the nest box together, for example.

Here's a short video of them both, doing nothing in particular:

My question is: How long a time will the two have to spend in isolation before I put them with the old flock?

I guess this is one of those "it depends"-questions, and that the two hens may never be besties. But I'd nevertheless like some guidelines.

 

[sunflour]

You are right, " it depends". We cannot create "friendships" for them.

In my experience, even the one picked on prefers being with the flock. And the longer you keep her separated, the more difficult it will be to get them back together.

IMO find a way to place the two "isolated" hens back with the flock and use the see no touch method of integration. Watch and decide when the aggression defuses and start monitored visitations. Make sure you have multiple feed/water stations and places for the picked on hen(s) to escape.

I'm sure you'll get some more opines here

 

[Pork Pie]

You have some sound advice from Sunflour, imo. Here are some links that may be of interest:

http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1015820/reintegration-by-supervised-visits#post_15742910
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/introducing-new-chickens-using-the-see-but-don-t-touch-method

 

[ChickenCanoe]

True, it depends.
It is usually better to remove the bullies because removing the bullied only makes them more of an outsider when they return.
After a few days, I'd move one of the bully hens in with these 2 and then the rooster, then a couple days later another hen. Then swap the 2 flocks for a couple days and then integrate them all.
When there is a bully situation, you want to make the bullies, the outsiders not the one being picked on.

 

[Henrik Petersson]

You are right, " it depends". We cannot create "friendships" for them.

In my experience, even the one picked on prefers being with the flock. And the longer you keep her separated, the more difficult it will be to get them back together.

IMO find a way to place the two "isolated" hens back with the flock and use the see no touch method of integration. Watch and decide when the aggression defuses and start monitored visitations. Make sure you have multiple feed/water stations and places for the picked on hen(s) to escape.

I'm sure you'll get some more opines here

You have some sound advice from Sunflour, imo. Here are some links that may be of interest:

http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1015820/reintegration-by-supervised-visits#post_15742910
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/introducing-new-chickens-using-the-see-but-don-t-touch-method

That makes zero sense.

The bullied hen was a well integrated flock member from the beginning, and then, over the course of a few weeks, started to get bullied, after being with the flock for over a year. Why would any kind of re-integration stop the bullying?

And no, the bullied hen most certainly does not prefer to be with the flock. When the flock are all out in the yard, and the bullied hen sees the rest of the flock coming towards her from some 100 feet away, she flees. And she refuses to go into the pen when her flock-mates are there.

True, it depends.
It is usually better to remove the bullies because removing the bullied only makes them more of an outsider when they return.
After a few days, I'd move one of the bully hens in with these 2 and then the rooster, then a couple days later another hen. Then swap the 2 flocks for a couple days and then integrate them all.
When there is a bully situation, you want to make the bullies, the outsiders not the one being picked on.

Hey... That's very clever!

It's gone 4 days already, maybe I should let 1 in with them?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Yes, I would. Then after a couple days, move the rooster. You want to get the rooster to bond with the outsiders for a while because then he may step in to protect them from the others or at least step in to stop quarrels. I've seen them do so many times.
I had 2 hens fighting for a spot on the roost. The rooster flew up between them as I was leaving the building. I went back a bit later and he had one wing over each of them. I tried to get a picture but it was too dark for a good shot.

 

[aart]

After a few days, I'd move one of the bully hens in with these 2 and then the rooster, then a couple days later another hen. Then swap the 2 flocks for a couple days and then integrate them all.

Chicken Juggling!
Breaking up the territoriality....and any change throws them for a loop so can be a good distraction from the pecking order.

Do let us know what you end up doing and how it works out.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Another thing I would definitely do is have at least 2 separate food and water stations on opposite sides of each house.

 

[Henrik Petersson]

Hello guys!

Okay, first of all, a little more background information: The chickens are my mom and dads'. They live on the countryside and I live in an apartment in town. I call them "my" chickens for simplicity's sake, most of the time. However, my mom and dad have the final say in the chickens' management, which is relevant to the rest of the thread.

I called my dad today and told him the awesome idea of chicken juggling. He said it indeed sounded like sound reasoning, but that he had let the two isolated hens free range today, next to the other chickens, and not a slightest sign of bullying had been seen. So my dad suggested letting the bullied + the new one free range with the others again for one more day or so, and then chucking them inside the coop with the flock.

I'dve preferred a bit of chicken juggling, but my dad's reasoning also makes sense. I think it could work, especially if we let them free range a lot in the beginning.

That's the world of chicken keeping... Taking things in stride and rolling with punches.

 

[aart]

He's there to watch them..... and like you say, it's his call.
Wonders if the 'enemies' will go to roost together...
...and all our speculation will be for naught?