Mix and match chickens-why is one getting picked on?

[fuzidragonbunnie]

We are new chicken farmers (if you will) and have a bunch of different chickens in a large enclosure probably about 60 feet in diameter or so. Most of the chickens, I have no idea what breed they are. Someone said that our dominant rooster is a polish silver speckled (or something like that) we also have 2 Amerucana (I think they're Arucanas-no tails) and a couple of banty mixes. The rest someone said are just plain old Mexican Chickens. Anyways, I saw two of the hens get into a scrap-one of our "mexican" chickens who has been in the henetentiary for almost a year and an Arucana-who ran away screeching. She looks miserable. She went up to the dominant male and he pecked her on the head. What do we do about the aggressiveness in our hens? I don't want them to kill the Arucana-she's soo sweet. Our ratio is 2 roosters to 11 hens (three of the chickens are still young teens).

 

[ella]

Sounds like pretty typical chicken behavior. They can be really agressive to the ones who are lower on the pecking order, especially when they're young.

You can help by increasing their space, adding distractions like cabbage for them to peck on, and placing some platforms or roosts in their area where the little one can get away when she's being picked on. Putting out more feeders and waterers will help too.

If they do draw blood you should get the injured one out right away and treat it.

If you can isolate who exactly is the ringleader, removing her for a few days will disrupt her place in the pecking order and keep her distracted for a while. You could also take the very tip off her beak, just the hooked part. That will keep her from being able to cause too much damage.

They're young still. They will settle down in time.

 

[fuzidragonbunnie]

Thanks for your advice. I had to rescue Ladybird this morning. Our three hens that have most seniority had ganged up on her. I am also concerned about our other Amerucana/Arucana because it seems that she is second on the pecking order (this includes the chicks and other hens that are younger and smaller than her). What is good for cleaning Lady up and helping her wounds heal-we got her missing a bunch of back feathers and now she has wounds on her head and back.

 

[ella]

Ouch, poor girl.

Triple antibiotic ointment works well, just make sure there's no lidocaine in it.

I keep a bottle of 1% gentle iodine on hand and mix it with water until it turns tea colored. I use that to flush wounds, then put on some antibiotic ointment. Chickens can heal incredibly fast.

You can make or buy a saddle to protect her back. https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=112898

If they're causing damage like that I probably would go ahead and trim the end of their beaks. If you just take off the hooked tip it will grow back but hopefully by then they will have mellowed toward Ladybird.

 

[fuzidragonbunnie]

I don't know what to think! I guess LadyBird likes the air conditioned clime with little stress. She laid us an egg this afternoon.