Mean Chicken all of a sudden..Is she a he? New Pic of her/him...

[Gooter]

I am no expert here but I have 3 SLWs and the eldest - which is the dominant one - can be quite mean. When I researched the breed I learned that SLWs can be very bossy, and I've found that to be the case with mine.

I had the oldest hen first, and she was in with my 2 Wellsummer pullets. She was bossy and would not let them go in to roost. She would attack them pretty badly when it was time to roost. I chose to resolve that by giving the Wellsummers their own house, because other than that they seemed to be okay when out and about together. But when I got 2 more SLWs (pullets) and put them in with the older one, she definitely was attacking them. I did resolve that though; or at least my rooster did. I have a super rooster that won't tolerate mean girls, so I put the roo in there with them and he straightened her right out. I left him with them for about a week before taking him back out (he rides the mean one pretty hard, so I keep them separate). I have not had any problem with the girl being mean since. She is top of the pecking order, but she absolutely is civil to the rest of the girls now, and has stayed that way since.

Not sure if this info helps at all, but I do think that - even tho SLWs are awesome, and very sweet to me, they can be bossy and sometimes mean. I like the idea of having a mature, proven roo around to help me keep the peace!

 

[SycolinWoodsChickens]

I'm not sure that is a roo. Our SLW had a much more developed comb and wattles, saddle feathers,etc by that age- but birds develop at their own pace. However, you have a similar mix of hens like we do and our SLW are the absolute worst bullies in our entire flock. They are hatchery birds and I can't wait to put two of them on Craigslist and get rid of them. We are starting a second flock this year and we will never have SLW's again (bad first experience). I'm sure there are nice lines in that breed but all of our other birds are so laid back, friendly and docile. The SLW's spend most of their time terrorizing everyone else, they wouldn't squat for the roo, they chase everyone else away from food and treats and they really pick on one of my SS (no one else in the flock picks on her).

I'd try to separate her for a bit and re-introduce the bird after about a week. If that doesn't work I'd consider re-homing the bully.

 

[seminolewind]

I'm going to say hen.

 

[sourland]

Just a mean old SLW hen. It happens sometime.

 

[teach1rusl]

I have to agree that your bird looks like a pullet to me. I am curious as to the size of your coop/run. You mention that it should hold up to six hens, so are you saying it's at least 24 sq. ft. and the run 60 sq. feet??? It was just really hard to tell from the photo, and I didn't know if you bought it from someone who advertised it for more than it should hold.
I only have a GLW, but she is my bully hen...she's always been a B. After reading others' comments, I'm wondering if wyandottes are just prone to being bullies????
I agree with the poster who suggested NOT putting her with another's flock and then bringing her back, as you don't want to mix for health reasons. A garage, a laundry room, even a shed...could you keep a dog crate in any of those places during the day??? Not just for temps., but for predator issues too, as some people have had racooons reach into crates to grab birds.

 

[Backyard_Chicken_rancher]

When mine started to do the back of the neck biting and chasing the other hens around I thought that "Jill" was just mean well turned out "Jill" was "Jack" so you may have a rooster on your hands but my rule of thumb is crow or lay we will know for sure...

 

[Chick named Lola]

Thank you so much for all of the wonderful info. I am going to seperate her/him during the day and see if that helps. I have to catch her first!

 

[Minniechickmama]

I think separation to calm the bird is a good idea. However, I think you have a girl. She does have a bit of stink eye on her, but I think you will see eggs coming from that one soon. She may just be getting a bit of PMS and that other girl just got caught up on a bad and the SLW had to lash out at someone. Sad really, that with no man to bite their head off, she would resort to another of her own gender. It could be the other girl made some comment about her having cankles and that would completely explain it!

 

[Chick named Lola]

I couldn't catch Thelma today but I did bring some back up...my dog! He's been out with them a lot but only on the leash. Since he listens so well, I decided it's now or never and he was fabulous! Thelma didn't know what to do! Here are the pics:

Edited to add pics...

 

[Chick named Lola]

As for the question on the size of the coop, I know the run is 6ft long from from to back as it has run space under the coop and here is a pic with Rose to give some perspective...don't know if that will help...

Here is the description of the coop:

The Elevated Slim Capecodder is great for people who may want to enter the sheltered pen areas. This unit offers almost 6’ of roosting and two removable nest boxes, closable ramp down into predator proof pen areas, electric lights and outlets for heat and heated water bowls can be fed from your typical extension cord, great ventilation to dry out the coop and make it smell free while offering maximum comfort for resting birds. Multiple access doors and easy cleaning features make this great for elderly and young bird owners. Birds come and go 24 hours a day while you sleep in or return late without concern. This is a very nice coop for beginners who simply want a couple of birds as pets and for fresh eggs in a care free, easy cleaning coop. Pictured here with a 4' rear pen (includes a 34 1/2" rear pen) and the optional free range door option in the front to allow birds out to play. The large rear door accessing the pen is included with the unit. Almost 50 sq feet of combined space (double the highest per bird sq ft requirement) offering bird very accommodating and humane living conditions year around.