Is this normal?

[troy4]

The real problem here is basically territorial and dominance based. For me the best way to fix this problem is to take a small cage, place her in it by herself for 1 day. This will help calm her nerves a lot. This method also helps when you take a hen from her chicks for good and put her back with the flock. If this doesn't work, get some water and when you catch her doing it splash her with the water. These two methods help a lot for me. Good luck.

Well its her territory adventualy once she's back in there she still be territorial and still peck.(Possibly)

 

[clankeyes]

my bossy one is an EE . She goes after my little silkie BUT my silkie is now a boy. When my Buff O has had enough she puts the EE in her place. They are 13 wks now .

 

[GOLDENSEABRIGHT]

ya my hens are aggressive sometimes

 

[Katt66]

As has been stated, they need to establish their pecking order. Somebody's gotta be top and somebody's gotta be bottom and everyone else sorts themselves out in between. It's how they live in harmony with each other.

As far as them being less friendly once placed outside...happens with mine as well. Perfectly tame and civilized in the coop or enclosed run. Once out in the open yard they may as well be wild pheasants for as much as they want to be caught and held. I think it's a combination of instinctive jumpiness and an instinctive urge to run from anything coming at them from above. Once back inside the security of their run they will happily be picked up and hop up on my shoulder and snuggle like babies once again.

 

[emilyschartz21]

I'll try those two options, except my hens love the water! I just don't get why the big ones ignore the babies until the one of the babies jumps at it. I have another feeder I can put with them

 

[Jack Palmer]

She must just be an old broody hen. I have a few of those kind of hens who chase the younger hens around.

 

[Goethe12]

Too cute to be a serial pecker!

 

[orion-mama]

I had/have a similar situation. I adopted 3, 2 yr old hens and they bully my 10 princesses. It's getting better, they don't draw blood. They are sharing feed from my hand and they didn't do that before. Every day they are a little kinder. However, the big 3, are not laying eggs like they were at their old home. I have had them for a month.

 

[chickenlover235]

My older chickens will pick on my 2 month old Golden Comets and Australorps, but the old hen is nice and doesn't care for pecking them.

 

[karenerwin]

When I introduced new young birds, I put a wire enclosure in the yard with a covered area for the young birds. I left the gate open a little so that the young birds could enter & exit at will but the bigger birds can't. This has worked great! The younger birds go out in the yard with the older birds + 2 roosters, & when they feel intimidated, they scurry back into the enclosure. The older birds hardly pay the younger birds any attention now (it's been about 3 weeks). None of the younger birds have chosen to go into the older birds coop yet, the still prefer the "safety" of the covered area inside the wire enclosure.
The older birds, including the 2 roos are a little over a year old. The young birds are a little over a month old now.