I am sooo fed up!

[mypicklebird]

x2 try some peepers. It is up to you to not let the other hens be miserable. If peepers don't work, permanent segregation. Put her in a cat carrier with bedding, food and water and leave her there until her owners/your husband builds or purchases a small private coop for her. If he won't do this- then put down your foot for the sake of the other birds- and have her stay in the carrier and your husband has to take care of her- I bet he will then build her something.


Quote:

 

[mypicklebird]

Comment on part of your post-
My take on a dominant hen's role is to boss the others around some, but she should not keep the others from food and water, or be so mean that the others have to hide in/under/on things to get away from her all of the time. In my chickens- there are some who are dominant- they eat first and tend to peck the other away when I throw down something yummy (kitchen scraps ect)- but they do not hang out by the food & water and drive away the others.

The flock dynamic does have top hens and subordinate hens, but if some or one of the hens are so subordinate/harrassed, that they lose weight- then there is a big problem that needs to be addressed by their caretaker (you). Options that might help- pick one or more: limited free ranging, adding in more stuff to DO- hanging cabbages/straw with mealworms/pieces of sod ect, building a bigger pen- lots more space, peepers, multiple feeding & water stations as the mean hen can't guard them all, physical barrier INSide the existing pen to separate them, & debeaking the mean hen.

It sounds like you have a bird that has crossed the dominant line into bully territory, it is good you are taking action.

Personally if I had a mean n nasty hen, I would not keep it. If my husband wanted to keep her over my preferences, he would be responsible for building her a new home an doing the daily care of her. The single egg she laid a day would not be worth it IMO to get a personal pen at my farm!

BigDaddy'sGurl :

To anyone who had constructive and kind suggestions (even some humorous "eat her" thoughts lol) thank you so much and I am going to try them all until I find something that works. For anyone who criticized (seriously, not in a joking way) my husband or my intent to keep my mean girl, let me just say that as I know chickens, even if we got rid of her, we would probably have another hen take up the "dominant" role because our chickens are not free ranged. To imply, or outright say that we would let our other chickens suffer unnecessarily because of this hen is rude and undeserved. I wouldn't have started this post if I thought her beating up the others was okay. Our hens are not "suffering". They are simply lower on the totem pole at the moment but if you would read my post from last night, the new girls are isolated until I get the problem handled. I do not believe that selling her and sending the problem to someone else is the solution. She lays daily (which is all we ever wanted), and she is a smallish game bird so it wouldn't be nearly worth the effort to eat her. She is also friendly and inquisitive with people and very comical and talks alot. I will fix the problem so suggesting I or my husband are somehow being inhumane is a slap in the face. If there is nothing funny or constructive, please do not post as you are just spreading negativity.

On a lighter note, what are "peepers" and wear can I buy a pair or a hundred LOL?​

 

[BigDaddy'sGurl]

Thanks for the input. I really think if I could just get a hen that would actually stand up to her she would back down. As it is, nobody is tough enough. I haven't seen another hen even willing to confront her, except the BR who is the boss, not even the delawares who make nearly three of her.

Thanks for the info about the peepers...a question tho: do you know where i can find info about how to put them on or pics of hens wearing them? The link you gave me was great but I would have NO idea how to use them! Thanks again!

Also, were we living off of our birds or greatly benefitting financially from having them, i.e. a farm, things would be different. As it is, we simply have a few acres and less than ten birds that are pets and egg producers so from a financial standpoint it's not about cost. It's about companionship and a love of our pets.

 

[Long Last Farm]

Comment on post 39:

I really do hope some of the suggestion posted are helpful to you. I do not know if you consider my post one of the ones that are spreading negativity, but it was not meant that way. Although I might have incorrectly read more into your original post than was intended ( easy to do on the internet, unfortunately), my take was that you were having a problem with an animal that is basically your HUSBAND'S pet ( "his baby"). In a later post, you called her "HIS pet". I thought maybe it was being left up to YOU to find a solution for a problem that was being caused by HIS pet. In a later post, you mentioned he did intervene and actually physically blocked the meanie from bothering the others while they ate and drank, but nothing else was posted on how he was helping find a more permanent solution to the problem. My intention was to suggest that the adult human being who was most emotionally attached to the mean bird ( and considers her his pet) take at least equal responsibility for solving the problem.

I don't know who you feel was implying that you and your husband were inhumane. I do understand that people may get the impression that your other hens are "suffering" by the way you described the mean hen's and the other birds' behavior. Read back through your post to see how you described it:

"literally chases them around and around, coop to run to coop to run, off perches, out of nesting boxes, away from food and water, she keeps them on the run until they finally give up and leap to the top of the nesting box and quiver there for about 23/24 hours of the day. Every day.

"My new delawares are so shaken and scared they are now taking to hiding, together mind you, in the only nesting box the other girls will use."

"....I think many people, not anyone who has commented here so far though, think I am exaggerating my mean girl's behavior....and no, there is no bloodshed, but she honestly STALKS any new girls."

"She waltzed in, mauled them, ran them out, ate some, then burst out to confront them at the next bowl...this process was repeated until the delawares were hiding in the nest box, not having eaten more than a teaspoon each."

"Later this evening, I went out and saw mean girl beating the others up again."

You also indicated that you have rehomed birds who were losing weight because of the mean girl's behavior.

I don't know if all of the above indicate the birds are "suffering", but they certainly are being stressed!

I have had challenges in integrating newbies into my flock. As I mentioned in my post, using a large cage inside the coop to isolate one or more birds might work for you. It did for me when I had pecking order issues. I hope something works for you! You certainly are trying to get good suggestions and I'm sure you have the best interest of all your birds at heart! Good luck!

 

[flakey chick]

Dr. Doorlock has some great pictures of his girls with googley eyes and hats on their peepers.

Look on the pinless peepers thread.

 

[Dora'smom]

Pinless Peepers will most likely make your life easier. They come with instructions, and are really very easy to put on. We usually put the one-piece peeper into a cup of very warm water to soften it, and then apply it, sometimes with a special little tool that slightly expands it (most guys probably have one in their tool kits), or even without the tool. They fight it for the first few minutes, but then they go on with their business. They can see to eat and drink, but just can't see straight ahead to peck others.
Another part of the problem will persist for awhile, though. The other birds have learned to fear her, and she may learn to make lunging moves close enough to them that they will still be scared for awhile. It may take time before they realize that she isn't able to actually harm them as readily.

 

[BigDaddy'sGurl]

thanks again mypicklebird! Also Dora'smom and flakeychick for your suggestions! I looked at the thread you linked to, flakey chick and got a rather good chuckle at the google eyed peepers lol

Definitely going to order some! You know what i have discovered just today about my mean hen? Before the delawares, she was a little overly aggressive with two cochin girls that she had been with for months. Not so terrible mind you, just basic "alpha hen" plus a little extra for good measure behavior. After the delawares, she is no longer mean to these cochins even though the delawares have yet to be reintroduced. It's like she forgot them or something. Makes me wonder if she would forget the delawares if I introduced another new girl...but alas, we can't and won't just keep adding girls to take the focus off the newbies...Mean girl has about a week left AFTER all other efforts have been tried before we isolate permanently. And yes, my husband has offered to build a new small coop....she does well with roosters so she won't be completely alone.

 

[omahalostpunk]

I'm not sure how well it would work or if you would still have the same problem or even a bigger one. Add several new birds at once, a group large enough to make your meanie have to think twice.

 

[BigDaddy'sGurl]

Quote:
Believe me, had I the room, the thought to do just what you suggested definitely crossed my mind. I mean, heck, she can't abuse 5+ new hens and even hope to keep up, lol. But for now, with our small-scale area we are limited. But thanks for the advice! : )

 

[omahalostpunk]

My grandparents when they would add new birds to their flock when I was a kid. They would leave their new birds in a cage inside the coop for 3 or 4 days with food and water. Just to let the flock get used to seeing them in there and so no one could hurt one another.