New chicken being pecked

[flappityflippers]

Hi all,

We recently added a couple of new chickens to our flock. We tried to introduce them gradually, keeping them separate but next to each other for a few days and introducing them at night etc. There was still a bit of scuffling and chasing around, but its been 2 and a half weeks and they now seem to have settled in.
However, one of the new chickens did get a scrape near her tail feathers. It bled, but was small and seemed to heal quickly. The trouble now is that one of the original chickens has taken to pecking that area and there is a very small bald patch.
I am 90% sure she is only pecking because there is already a patch there. The chicken doing the pecking never seemed fazed by the arrival of the new hens (it was the others that fought them initially). I don't think that she is doing it all the time, but I've seen her doing it a few times when I go down to feed them. She will repeatedly peck the area until I break it up. The victim chicken doesn't fight back or even run away (I guess because she is lower in the pecking order?).

My question is whether there is anything I need to do or whether it will stop on its own. I've been keeping a close eye on it, and there hasn't been any more bleeding, just some loss of feathers, but I'm worried about it getting worse. After doing some research I've come up with a few possible options:
- Separate the chicken being pecked
- Separate the chicken doing the pecking
- Using some anti-peck spray
- Putting an anti-pecking cape on the victim

Does anyone have any experience of something similar and know if any of these work? If so how long do they need to be done?

I've tried to find an answer to this elsewhere but most things focus on how to prevent this behaviour starting, which i think its already too late for. Its worth noting that they have all been healthy otherwise, and we let them roam around a pretty big fenced off area in our garden all day. We don't have loads of things for them to play with, but there is a couple of wooden perches and a swing (which they don't seem to like!).

 

[aart]

- Separate the chicken doing the pecking

Try this first.

 

[flappityflippers]

Try this first.

Thanks for your reply aart. Any experience on how long to keep them separated? Do we wait until the feathers grow back?
Pretty new to chicken keeping so your help is much appreciated!

 

[aart]

Thanks for your reply aart. Any experience on how long to keep them separated? Do we wait until the feathers grow back?
Pretty new to chicken keeping so your help is much appreciated!

I'd use a wire crate left right in the run or coop.
Start with 48 hours then let her out and see.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hi, welcome to the forum. Glad you joined.

In situations like this I think it is a good idea to check them for mites or lice. Mites or lice are usually not part of the problem with feather pecking, usually. But just eliminate a possibility. It's a good idea to regularly check for mites or lice anyway.

I once had a hen doing this to a mature rooster, plucking neck feathers. They were perched side by side and he just sat there letting her. I don't know if she was grooming him or what but she was creating a bald spot. I saw it a couple of times. I locked him up for about 24 hours in a wire cage in the coop. She stopped plucking him when I let him out. The reason I locked him up instead of her was that she was laying eggs, he wasn't. I did not want to upset her egg laying routine. I don't know if it really matters which you lock up but there seems to be a certain justice in locking up the plucker instead of the pluckee, other things being equal.

I'm not going to argue with Aart, 48 hours works for me. It's trial and error anyway. Separating them doesn't always work but sometimes it does. Using anti-peck spray doesn't always work but sometimes it does. Good luck!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Anti peck lotion can do the job but requires regular (like daily) re-application, so something to keep in mind if you go that route.

 

[Sandy Berry]

Hi all,

We recently added a couple of new chickens to our flock. We tried to introduce them gradually, keeping them separate but next to each other for a few days and introducing them at night etc. There was still a bit of scuffling and chasing around, but its been 2 and a half weeks and they now seem to have settled in.
However, one of the new chickens did get a scrape near her tail feathers. It bled, but was small and seemed to heal quickly. The trouble now is that one of the original chickens has taken to pecking that area and there is a very small bald patch.
I am 90% sure she is only pecking because there is already a patch there. The chicken doing the pecking never seemed fazed by the arrival of the new hens (it was the others that fought them initially). I don't think that she is doing it all the time, but I've seen her doing it a few times when I go down to feed them. She will repeatedly peck the area until I break it up. The victim chicken doesn't fight back or even run away (I guess because she is lower in the pecking order?).

My question is whether there is anything I need to do or whether it will stop on its own. I've been keeping a close eye on it, and there hasn't been any more bleeding, just some loss of feathers, but I'm worried about it getting worse. After doing some research I've come up with a few possible options:
- Separate the chicken being pecked
- Separate the chicken doing the pecking
- Using some anti-peck spray
- Putting an anti-pecking cape on the victim

Does anyone have any experience of something similar and know if any of these work? If so how long do they need to be done?

I've tried to find an answer to this elsewhere but most things focus on how to prevent this behaviour starting, which i think its already too late for. Its worth noting that they have all been healthy otherwise, and we let them roam around a pretty big fenced off area in our garden all day. We don't have loads of things for them to play with, but there is a couple of wooden perches and a swing (which they don't seem to like!).

I'm sure that you've resolved the issue by now, but just sharing this info that was given to me by a neighbor, for future reference. She was having an issue with one being picked on, & she was told to put a little Vick's Vapor Rub on the area where they are being pecked. In her instance it was behind the head, so I would suggest checking to make sure it was safe to put on other areas (since the bird itself would be able to reach it). Anyway, she did this & it stopped the bullying. Hope this helps!