I have an aggressive bully and another hen that is bullied by all, needing som help.

[michaelsorensen34]

Hi all,

So we are newer chicken owners and have had our chickens since April in our homage coop. But since then I feel like we have only been reacting to the stinking drama nonstop. Our coop is 6 ft by 8 ft and the run is 16ft by 8 feet.

We have 1 cinnamon queen, 2 Rhode island reds, and 4 Easter Eggers. We had an issue a couple months ago with three of the Easter Eggers being eaten alive and their buts were bloody messes. We separated till healed then re integrated.

We then started installing peepers on bullies one by one as they all still picked on one chicken. One of the Easter Eggers is white and looks different than all the others. We had 3 bullies peeped up and all was good, we left them on for a long time, about a month. Once removed the bullying resumes. She is bullied pretty aggressively by the cinnamon Queen (she also relentlessly bullies all the other chickens and was peeped up, but went back to it, now is removed from coop in dog crate) and the others pick on her but not as bad.

My plan of action is this, keep the CQ separated for a couple weeks, reintegrate, see if that fixes things. All the while keep an eye on the others for bullying the EE white girl.


What haven’t I tried and will I need to get rid of them both?? What else can I try?? Please help!!

 

[Yardmom]

Does your set up include multiple feeders and waters? Are the sight lines between them blocked? Is there other clutter and several places to roost?
Not all chickens will get along and CQ and RIR are not known for being mild mannered. If you have answered yes to the above and the reintroduction doesn't go well, it might mean removing/permanently separating birds to solve for peace in the flock.