Hi there, We have 4 chickens, all easter eggers. Two are pretty good sized, and two are smaller. One of the big girls, Nefertiti, has started really picking on one of the smaller ones. She drives her away from the food bowl and will run up and peck at her at random intervals. To put Nefertiti's nickers in even more of a twist, Nancy (her victim) seems to always get the nest box that Nefi wants and then she stands in the yard and just yells. What would you do with a chicken who is being mean? I'm sure they are working out their social order, but it bugs the kids to see Nancy getting picked on the way she is. Thanks for any suggestions. Deb and Liz
Put her in time out for a few days. I had to do this with one of our roosters and it worked. If you have a cage or something to put her in for bit where she can see the other chickens but not be able to get to them.
Has she injured Nancy? Drawn blood? If not, they may work out the order and get over it. I have an EE that is a super busy body about anyone who is in the nesting box. And then after they lay she moves their eggs out of the box. Who knows?
I've never had this problem but folks on here say that you can isolate the bully in a cage where she can see the others but not engage in contact. If you can do this for a week or even a few days, it seems to change the pecking order in the flock and she will be the low bird when she gets out of jail. I don't know if this would be a permanent fix but I know that the stew pot certainly is, if all else fails.
