One Chicken Attacking Another at Night-Causes, Dangerous to Add A Pullet(s)?

[Danniro]

I have only two chickens right now, one of which was from the original flock of 4 chickens (3 passed away) and one is a bit younger as we added her when the numbers were dwindling. One is a wyandotte, who is 5 (I think) and the other a 2 year old Welsummer. The wyandotte has always picked on the welsummer, who was introduced to a flock of 3 when she was old enough to be away from the heat lamp.
Last Thursday night, around 3am, I was awakened by a terrible screaming/squawking. Thinking they were being attacked I ran outside, only to find the tractor (it's an eglu, here's a pic of one http://www.heavypetal.ca/uploads/archived/eglu.gif) securely locked, my wyandotte huddled in the corner with the the welsummer standing above her, and the wyandotte feathers strewn everywhere. I made sure they were done fighting and went back inside. It happened twice more!! After the 3rd time I put the wyandotte in the nest box, closed the door, and left the welsummer in the run. I felt quite bad because from my room I could her her bwacking nervously and even the sounds of her slamming against the wire like something was trying to get her (lots of feral cats in my neighhborhood).
The next night it happened again, also at around 3am! I separated them right off the bat. Thankfully it hasn't happened since then but I still worry every night. What could have caused this?
Someone on the chicken email list I subscribe to recommended we expand the flock, which makes sense. Perhaps the attack was tension, maybe the welsummer was trying to be head of the pecking order? Now I am in contact with a woman who has some pullets for sale, but after describing what happened with my hens she is worried a pullet added might get hurt.
What do you think? Is the best thing to add one or two more chickens? Should they be pullets? Would the pullets be at risk?
I should add that we let our chickens out every morning so they do free range around our backyard, which is good sized with lots of bushes and such.
Thanks in advance

 

[Judy]

Adding more always shakes up the pecking order -- but sometimes you get one who just won't quit, and is too rough. Once she is in a larger group, it may help to remove the "meanie" for a week, out of sight of the flock. When you return her, she will in effect be a newcomer, and thus at the lower end of the pecking order. Actually, you might consider removing the Wandotte during the integration of the new ones.

 

[Danniro]

I don't really have a good way to just remove a chicken, we have no extra run or cages or anything.
The woman I spoke to was hoping that my welsummer might take a little one under her wing sort of, because she has been broody twice in the past and once recently.
My wyandotte was always at the bottom of the pecking order until we introduced my welsummer, and then she just kind of went crazy on her. She pecks her all the time it's so sad : (
I'm not sure how my welsummer would be with a new chick though because she's never seen a newcomer.

 

[Mrs. K]

I think you might consider culling both of the older hens, and starting over. If you can get four of the pullets that have been raised together, they should get along well, and are young and going to lay well for you for sometime to come.

What I have seen, is that the victim bird, tends to become the bully bird when new birds are added. I think the current bully will also keep being mean, and it might take a very long time for the flock to meld, and a lot of bad behaviors becoming habits.

Mrs K

 

[aart]

That's an awfully small coop, even for 3 birds, that could well be part of the problem.

I think the smaller the flock the harder integration is, really hard to integrate 1 bird, they'd do better in pairs.

You should always have a crate of cage to segregate and bad or sick chicken...really helps for integration too to let them exist side by side visually but without being able to touch each other.

It sounds like you've had this little flock for a couple years and this upset just happened? I'd bet a predator tried to get at them and now everyone's upset.

 

[Danniro]

I could never get rid of my girls!
No we let them free range and leave the door of the run open. The coop itself is supposed to hold up to 5 birds.
The only predator it could have been was a small rat. The run is racoon proof.
But I know it wasn't one... because a) it didn't stop until I separated the two and b) everytime I went out there it was the wyandotte's feathers strewn everywhere, her huddling in the corner, the welsummer standing over her.
I was thinking if we were to add a chicken might want to add to because I heard adding two makes it less lonely for the newbies

 

[Mrs. K]

I did not mean to offend, they just don't sound happy to me.

 

[Danniro]

I mean I don't know why they wouldn't be, they have a large lush yard to roam around every day and treats everyday!

 

[Danniro]

How could I just send them off to be slaughtered?? There's nothing wrong with them

 

[Judy]

"Cull" just means remove from the lfock, by whatever means. Perhaps you could find them a new home. It's usualy pretty easy to give away a laying hen -- and a new flock might solve her behavior problems, as well.