I have a Cinnamon Queen getting bullied, we've separated her, and 1.5 weeks later, no improvement...

[Unionturf]

I'll appreciate any tips. We have had chickens for 9 years now. We have a mixed coop, and I swear I'll never buy another Wyandotte...lol. They are just "different". Anyway, 4 years ago we bought 4 Cinnamon Queens and 2 blue laced Wyandotts. They have been together for 4 years now. Two weeks ago, the Dots started bullying one of our Cinnamon Queens. We finally put the Queen in our coop that we can block off. We've had them separate, we'll let them out together to free-range and yet they will start attacking her, and she finally runs to the coop to hides. She's heathy, no issues that we can see, she just runs when they start attacking her and then even the roster starts at her.

So, we are 2 weeks in now with isolation and limited access, and it seems the blue laced dots are the bullies. Now, I'm thinking, I'll turn the tables and put the blue dots in the isolations coop and let the queen who's been being bullied go out with the rest and see what happens. It seems the Dots trigger this aggression, any thoughts or opinions??

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

cull the bully, I have never regretted culling a bully.

 

[Chicalina]

Definitely separate the bullies not the bullied. Otherwise you just emphasise her 'otherness' and victimhood status. She will start to be shunned by everyone in the flock if you keep her apart. Put the wyandottes in bad bird quantantine for a week and see what happens when you try to reintroduce them back.

Or rehome them.

 

[Camo chicken146]

cull or re-home the main aggressor and then see how things go, the bullies are not likely to stop if its been going on for quite a while

 

[townchicks]

In my experience with bullies, it works best by separating the bully, in sight of the rest of the flock. This has a twofold effect of dropping the status of the bully, and boosting the confidence of the bullied hen, by letting her go where she wants without fear. This can take a few days or a few weeks. Don't rush the process. When you do reintegrate do it free range so there is plenty of room , and put out a lot of clutter for the bullied hen to get out off sight of the Wyandotte. Multiple feed and water stations are crucial. Clutter up your run also. That's, of course, if you really want to keep the Wyandottes,

 

[Chicalina]

In my experience with bullies, it works best by separating the bully, in sight of the rest of the flock. This has a twofold effect of dropping the status of the bully, and boosting the confidence of the bullied hen, by letting her go where she wants without fear. This can take a few days or a few weeks. Don't rush the process. When you do reintegrate do it free range so there is plenty of room , and put out a lot of clutter for the bullied hen to get out off sight of the Wyandotte. Multiple feed and water stations are crucial. Clutter up your run also. That's, of course, if you really want to keep the Wyandottes,

Great post

 

[ChookaPete]

I tried separating the bully but that didn't stop the bullying. I caught her attacking the victim and disciplined her. Splashing her with water from the hose is a good method.

Now the ex-bully and ex-victim are best friends - they often sun-bathe next to each other and roost next to each other!


I would only cull a bully if they were drawing blood from the victim.

 

[LaFleche]

You could use pinless peepers for the aggressors.

Any update for us?

 

[Pukkits]

We also rehomed our Wyandottes as bullies. We found when we had roosters, often the roo kept bullies in check. We weren't able to keep roos (work hours and crowing hours not compatible), so the Wyandottes went to a neighbor. We had tried chicken jail, peepers, water soaking, etc.

We also have a hen that normal birds just bully. Lucia has a crooked toe and her feathers look funny. She's healthy. The bullies in a mixed flock tried to kill her twice (holding down and neck pecking). After her second round in recovery, we rehomed more than half our flock. We figured "normal" birds could adapt to new flocks better than less dominant birds. Hens that were nice to Lucia stayed. We never regretted it, as Lucia and her friends are still giving us eggs and laughter years later. We got new pullets this year, all orpingtons like Lucia just different colors, and we've been vigilant for signs of bullying as they grow.

A pecking order is natural, but it sounds like you are taking excellent care of your birds by getting involved before it gets too far. I hope the bullies stop soon.