My favorite is being harassed

[spaden]

My absolute favorite chicken ever is being singled out by the other girls and picked on, literally. They have pulled all of her feathers out of her toosh and grab her by the head and try to fling her. I brought her in the house because I was scared for her, but don't want her to be separate from the flock for too long. What can I do? She is an americauna and the sweetest little girl ever. She lays daily, but has lost some weight and was so thirsty once I got her in safely.SHe ate and drank well once she was separated. She looks for me to protect her all the time. I assumed it was the Morans that were being so bad, but it ended up being the buff orpingtons that I caught hurting her today. I think they have all jumped on the badwagon. Please help my poor Fran!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Bullying happens more often in smaller set ups, so sharing more of your situation will help. Size of coop and run, numbers, breeds, feed?

My guess is your favorite hen is in the bottom of the pecking order. The more friendly hens tend to be.

 

[lazy gardener]

OH asks excellent questions which must be answered in order to help you with your problem. Can you tell us the exact dimensions of your coop and run L x W x H. Also what they are on for feed, including protein percentage, mill date of feed, and what you are giving them for treats or supplements. Age of all birds, and # of birds in your flock?

 

[gimmie birdies]

Can you put out some great snacks or change up the coop? Chickens always like new digs. Do you have an inexpensive mirror you can put out? Try a diff bedding in lay pens. Good luck....

 

[Erin80]

I don’t really have advice, but just wanted to say that my favourite chicken is my blue Ameraucana and she gets picked on as well. She is SO sweet and cuddly. She doesn’t get picked on as bad as my poor Icelandic though who is on the very bottom of the pecking order. The only one that likes her is my Ameraucana! I’d love a little coop for just the two of them.

 

[aart]

Welcome to BYC @spaden!
OHLD and LG have asked very important questions....
...please answer them so we can help solve this problem for you.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Aside from answering the previously asked excellent questions, I have two bits of advice.
When these things happen, always provide multiple feed and water stations well removed from one another so the bullies can't prevent eating and drinking.
Also, always remove the bullies and not the bullied. Then when they are returned to the flock days later and one at a time, the bullies are then at the bottom of the pecking order.

 

[spaden]

The run is approx 18ft long by 7 feet wide with 4 different roosting bars one in each corner. The food hangs from the rafters which are 7 feet high at face height. There are only 5 girls in there so they have tons of room. I'd let them roam the yard but we live close to a preserve and there are hawks that hang around in the off chance one might become available for take out. But there is a huge area for them, so I don't believe it is crowding. I hang food for them to eat/play with (heads of lettuce, apples, etc). They squat for me when I come in the pen, all but the 2 Morans. But they are missing feathers on the butt too. The huge buff orpington is the only one in tact so I assume she is the primary bully. If I show any attention to the other girls she gets aggressive towards them, like shes jealous. But Fran isn't scared of them at all, just wary. She eats well and loves my visits. Rose (the huge buff) gets lots of attention so I can't see why she would be jealous. I'm fairly new to this so I'm a bit at a loss. 2 Buffs, 2 Morans and 1 Americauna (easter egger).

 

[spaden]

Bullying happens more often in smaller set ups, so sharing more of your situation will help. Size of coop and run, numbers, breeds, feed?

My guess is your favorite hen is in the bottom of the pecking order. The more friendly hens tend to be.

18ftx7ftx7ft run. They are on an organic layers feed from the local feed store- looks like real food not pellets. 2 buffs, 2 morans and 1 amaericauna.

 

[spaden]

OH asks excellent questions which must be answered in order to help you with your problem. Can you tell us the exact dimensions of your coop and run L x W x H. Also what they are on for feed, including protein percentage, mill date of feed, and what you are giving them for treats or supplements. Age of all birds, and # of birds in your flock?

As for the feed I am not positive. I actually have to go to the store and get more today, so I can see. Is there a ratio that is best? All I know is that its' the organic feed that they have and it has whole corn, lentils and other things in it. It does not look like any other feed I had used in the past. And they eat the heck out of it. We are very City here so there aren't many options around for feed. Is there a place online you recommend or a brand? I'm all for trying something new. These eggs hurt my stomach, never had this problem before so I had been questioning if it was the feed.