Mean Hens: what to do about henpecking?

[Lizounette]

We have three hens; one Americana, two Buff Orphingtons. One of the Buff's is very obviously the lowest on the pecking order. We free range during the day, and they have a small coop that we put them in after nightfall till the morning. Last night after we put them in the coop, the Americana was ON TOP of my poor Buff really going at her! And in the morning, my husband told me the other Buff was even chasing and pecking at her.

Is there anything that I can do to get these other girls to lay off the other?????? It's tearing my heart up watching them be mean to her.

 

[Teach97]

get a couple more birds or a rooster...with so few if you have birds that are close in temperment and such the will constantly fight for dominance...with more birds there are more birds to push around and it gets evened out...a roo will often stop hen fights and assert his dominance so calming the hens

 

[haTHOR]

i had an EE (BA cross) that was mean as all get out to another EE. i was already thinking of getting rid of her due to this (she wouldn't even let the EE lay an egg...poor Ruth had to wait until Trudy was busy laying to get enough peace to go to another nest box!)

one day Trudy the mean EExBA pecked me in the face. not only could i vividly imagine killing her for meat (and that was a FIRST--i could never imagine doing so before that) i put an ad on craigslist for her that day.

my flock has been SO much happier with her gone. and i am not constantly worried about who she is going after!

by the way i had hoped that having a roo and 11 hens would fix her ways...it just didn't. she was just a mean hen.

 

[feathersnuggles]

The small coop might be part of the problem. I've heard you can put up a couple more roosts, so there are more places for the lower birds to escape and to spend the night. My birds DO squabble a little at night before they are all up on the roost. I'm going to put up another roost, so hopefully there is more space for each of them to get away from the other. I have 5 birds, using a 4-1/2 foot long roost.

I have a similar bullying & feather-breaking problem right now, between my 2 lower pecking order hens. The lowest is being tormented by the one above her, even when they free-range the yard which is nearly all day long. The mean one's gotten so bad, she's even been locked in the run, doing time-out, during the day - while her "sisters" free-ranged. I think I may need to extend her time-outs to a full day & night, once I can figure out where I can keep her for a longer time.

 

[Lizounette]

Getting more hens is an interesting suggestion. I will have to talk to my husband!

It's odd though their behavior at night. Bella, the one who is been pecked/lowest on the ladder, tries to sleep outside in a tree until we round them into the coop, then they fight and peck at her because she's often tries to have her head out the door, and they all (I think) want the prized position near the door. I've been trying to think of how we could redesign their coop. (see: http://lizounette.wordpress.com/2009/10/10/chicks-home-to-roost/ )

 

[haTHOR]

she is trying to sleep in a tree because she is lowest and catching hell from the others...and i really doubt her position is prized...it's just that they are trying to kick her out. there is no way, if she is the lowest, that she has the prized spot or even close to it.

 

[feathersnuggles]

Give them 2 roosts, one a little higher than the other (minus the ability to poop on the heads of those roosting on the lower one!). Anyway, dominant birds insist on roosting at the best place... which, if given the opportunity, is usually the highest place. This gives lower birds a safe place to roost, and they'll naturally gravitate to the low roost, leaving the top roost for the top hens.

 

[sourland]

After looking at the picture of your coop, I don't think they have enough space. There is no way she can get away from the more dominant hens. This behavior may escalate to the point where they kill her. She tries to sleep with her head out the door because that is their primary target.

 

[Lizounette]

Quote:
Oh no! that's horrible! ...but they all like to sit with their heads out the door? If she wont move, the other one will sit on top of her with her head out the door, too.