Mean chicken!?!

[Caitboyce]

I've been reading up a bit about chicken bullies, but I am still not sure what to think/do about what is going on with mine. I am a new chicken keeper with 5 six month old hens, bought when they were a few days old. I have 2 Chocolate Orpingtons, 2 Barnevelders, and 1 Salmon Faverolles. The Orps and Faverolles are laying. The Faverolles is the mean one. When she got big enough she would freak out if I tried to pick her up, but no biggie, the others are friendly and cuddly. Then she started biting me when I tried to interact with other chickens. Still, no biggie, once I knew she would bite me I just didn't give her the chance. Well, now she has started pulling out the feathers on the backs of the other girls. Obviously not a good time for that as temps are dipping down! One is more torn up, but all have missing/tore up feathers, except the Faverolles. Do I just have an aggressive bird that is just too mean for the other chickens? I chose the breeds I did because they are supposed to be docile and sweet. I am entertaining the idea that everyone might be happier if she were to join a more assertive group, but I like her and I'd be sad to see her go. Is there anything I can do to get her to be nicer? Could it be adolescent behavior that she could outgrow? I don't care if she's mean to me, but I don't want her to keep torturing the other girls. TIA

This is Yvette, a French Brese pullet. As a chick she was the least friendly of all the babies. Now, at 8 months, she has the look of a serial killer. She picks and bullies all the other hens, the runner ducks and me, if I get in her way. My girls have an entire large garden to roam in all day long - from sunrise to sunset. They get food treats constantly and are always picked up and cuddled … Except for Yvette, who in typical Parisienne style, simply abhors any signs of affection. We joke that she’d be great in an outdoor cafe on the Seine with a cigarette and a bottle of wine…. So I’ve adapted to her behaviour by not trying to change who she is. Several of the hens will chase her off when they get tired of her and there’s been no damage to any other birds - plus at night, they all cuddle up together. Go figure. Like humans, these girl have their own set of rules so maybe just leave it alone and it’ll run its course? I’m not much help but, I’ve just

decided to stop intervening in whatever is nature-driven in the ducks and chickens..

 

[Jeo0120]

I've been reading up a bit about chicken bullies, but I am still not sure what to think/do about what is going on with mine. I am a new chicken keeper with 5 six month old hens, bought when they were a few days old. I have 2 Chocolate Orpingtons, 2 Barnevelders, and 1 Salmon Faverolles. The Orps and Faverolles are laying. The Faverolles is the mean one. When she got big enough she would freak out if I tried to pick her up, but no biggie, the others are friendly and cuddly. Then she started biting me when I tried to interact with other chickens. Still, no biggie, once I knew she would bite me I just didn't give her the chance. Well, now she has started pulling out the feathers on the backs of the other girls. Obviously not a good time for that as temps are dipping down! One is more torn up, but all have missing/tore up feathers, except the Faverolles. Do I just have an aggressive bird that is just too mean for the other chickens? I chose the breeds I did because they are supposed to be docile and sweet. I am entertaining the idea that everyone might be happier if she were to join a more assertive group, but I like her and I'd be sad to see her go. Is there anything I can do to get her to be nicer? Could it be adolescent behavior that she could outgrow? I don't care if she's mean to me, but I don't want her to keep torturing the other girls. TIA

You could try moving your little bully hen out of the flock and isolating her in a shed or some other covered location for a week. In her absence, she will lose her place in the pecking order of the flock. That might stop her from getting after the other birds, but that wouldn't explain why she is biting you. She could just be a mean one. We had an Australorp hen we raised from a chick that just got mean after a time. The kids named her "Chickenstein." Eventually, we just had to re-home her. Good luck with your cranky bird.

 

[Marybear]

Thank you so much to everyone who responded!

After the comments about my Favorelles beard, I started keeping a closer eye on that. In 3 days she went from no beard but had neck feathers, to naked under her neck, to naked strip from under beak to the top of her chest! So I started worrying that she was the victim rather than the aggressor.

In the mean time, I added some clutter to the run and upped their protein. And - the pecking and feather damage seems to have stopped! Yay!

My theory is that Ginger (Faverolles) actually started this. She is the only one whose back feathers aren't damaged and she was observed pecking all the other chickens. I think the other chickens may have started defending themselves, and took out her face feathers in the process. It makes sense to me that if she was coming at them, that's where they'd peck her. So it may be that they worked it out on their own.

They are really enjoying the clutter- and it's fun to watch them climbing around. They actually seem to be playing on it. They are also really enjoying the protein snacks- so far they actually seem to like tuna the best. So whether those things helped solve the feather pecking or not, I have learned a lot and the chickens quality of life has improved. I am just going to keep an eye on things for now.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Thank you so much to everyone who responded!

After the comments about my Favorelles beard, I started keeping a closer eye on that. In 3 days she went from no beard but had neck feathers, to naked under her neck, to naked strip from under beak to the top of her chest! So I started worrying that she was the victim rather than the aggressor.

In the mean time, I added some clutter to the run and upped their protein. And - the pecking and feather damage seems to have stopped! Yay!

My theory is that Ginger (Faverolles) actually started this. She is the only one whose back feathers aren't damaged and she was observed pecking all the other chickens. I think the other chickens may have started defending themselves, and took out her face feathers in the process. It makes sense to me that if she was coming at them, that's where they'd peck her. So it may be that they worked it out on their own.

They are really enjoying the clutter- and it's fun to watch them climbing around. They actually seem to be playing on it. They are also really enjoying the protein snacks- so far they actually seem to like tuna the best. So whether those things helped solve the feather pecking or not, I have learned a lot and the chickens quality of life has improved. I am just going to keep an eye on things for now.

This is a perfect example of great chickenkeeping! We all learn as we go.