One chicken is being bullied by the rest of the flock & it's BAD!

[Mrs. K]

I think it is a help to have different levels in your run. Like a saw horse, or some old branches, some boxes, I even have two wire cages, kind of kitty corner in the corner. The birds can get away from each other, get out of sight, and it can slow the bully down, so the victim can get out of reach. You might think it cuts down on the space, but the different levels really help. Mrsk

 

[teach1rusl]

Quote:
Actually, removing the bully is typically what most people do. Some call it "chicken jail" or "chicken time-out." A dog crate, or even just sectioning off a small area inside your current run for a few days will sometimes knock a bully down a few pegs. However, you'll have to watch to see for sure if it's truly a case of your BA initiating things; maybe your others girls will bully this hen even with this leader removed??? If that's the case, then honestly, you might have to end up rehoming the poor picked on bird.

In the meantime, make sure there is more than one feeder/waterer available (set far apart) so she will get a chance to eat. Someone already mentioned multiple roosts (in the coop and/or run) so that the abused hen has different places to go to get away from the bully(s).

 

[starlacestar]

I have one hen who is on the lowest pecking order also. I just introduced two new roosters and now she is being bullied extremely with all the hens and rooster too. I had to separate her due to injury to her neck. Now she is terrified and just want to be with me all day. How do i fix this? I know I have to wait until her wound is healed but I'm afraid if I put her back it will just happen again. She is super scared of everything. She has always been like that but she is super gentle and very friendly. I think mine was because of all the stress of inturducing two new roosters. I have a giant area for them to play in like 1000+ square feet that is fenced from the rest of the yard. So now i am just isolating the bullied chicken on the other side of my fence in my nice backyard. The rest stay in the run area. The mean hens and roosters are not happy and i can tell they want to go where my little sweet bullied chicken is but thats to bad. I have been putting her on the roosting bar at night with the other chickens and she seems to do fine like that. I will continue to seperate them until her neck is completely better then i will see if i can stick them together.

 

[ChickenChaser9]

I have one hen who is on the lowest pecking order also. I just introduced two new roosters and now she is being bullied extremely with all the hens and rooster too. I had to separate her due to injury to her neck. Now she is terrified and just want to be with me all day. How do i fix this? I know I have to wait until her wound is healed but I'm afraid if I put her back it will just happen again. She is super scared of everything. She has always been like that but she is super gentle and very friendly. I think mine was because of all the stress of inturducing two new roosters. I have a giant area for them to play in like 1000+ square feet that is fenced from the rest of the yard. So now i am just isolating the bullied chicken on the other side of my fence in my nice backyard. The rest stay in the run area. The mean hens and roosters are not happy and i can tell they want to go where my little sweet bullied chicken is but thats to bad. I have been putting her on the roosting bar at night with the other chickens and she seems to do fine like that. I will continue to seperate them until her neck is completely better then i will see if i can stick them together.

This is a good idea.

 

[Johnsbaby54]

I have a had that problem with my docile hen being picked on. I stand around her in the morning so she can eat and drink. In the afternoon I let the others free range so she can be alone and eat. Mine won't let her get on the roost at night. I go in when it's dark and put her on the roost.
I have a hen saddle on her to keep them from pecking her.

 

[Grace11]

Depends on your situation. my first flock was a mix of differing breeds. There were 6 BO's that i called the gang of six. i determined the worst offender and ate her. They kept cornering the other birds and pecking them bloody. pretty soon they were down to two and i ate another one and the last one turned out to be a really nice hen, gave me several batches of chicks cause she would go broody every year. Sometimes you just have a bully or bullies and you have to get rid of them. Being meek is not a bad thing in my book with my chickens.

 

[Possum1]

One of my Rhode Island Reds is being severely bullied by the rest of my hens. I have 4 reds and 3 Australops (I know I spelled it wrong, so I'll refer to them as "the black ones") in a roomy pen. About 2 weeks ago one of the black ones started attacking this one hen in particular and everyone would join in. Well, it's gotten so bad that this one hen just hangs out in the rafters where they roost and will not come down. She is not eating, drinking or socializing and I am scared for her life. What can I do to stop this bad behavior and improve her quality of living? I know I could remove the offending chicken but I don't know where I would put her and I wonder if the flock will just turn on her when she is re-introduced.

I had a similar problem a few years ago. One chicken was being bullied nonstop and was getting wounded badly. I tried quarantining her, then reintroducing her, but that didn’t work. I used the blue spray to cover the bloody spots, and that didn’t work. I used a red light in the coop, and that didn’t work either. There was no stopping them. Finally, I got desperate enough to move the bullied chicken to a new flock entirely. Now I have two separate flocks and there’s no bullying anymore. I gave the chicken her own flock with chickens that look like her and she is so happy. I don’t know if this helps but this is the only thing that worked for me.

 

[Copy Cat]

Can you afford to get one of those dog cages from Lowes (about $65 plus tax)?


They are large enough for one or even two full sized hens to live in temporariliy.


I have one, and I just keep it in the main henhouse 24/7/365. When I need to isolate a chicken for some reason, I put the chicken in that cage, where she can still live among her flock, but she is protected from danger.


In a case like yours, I would isolate the victimized hen in that dog cage for a few days. Of course, I'd provide her with food and water -- and maybe special treats like some suet or something to help keep her entertained.


But then after she healed a bit and got some good food and water into her belly, I'd turn the tables and lock up the main bully(ies). Even if I had to cram in three of the worst bullies into that one cage, I would do it. Offer her freedom with the better behaved birds, while the biggest behavior problems got several days of lockup.


I had one lady who was shaping up to be a particularly bad bully, and it took an entire week locked up in that cage, but I got her behavior under control by caging her that way.

That sounds like good advice. Thanks.

 

[SoCal Chicken Mama]

They have that medium dog crate at Aldi's right now for $40 and a cover for it for $8. It holds all four of my 16 week old birds, but now I am using it to protect my beautiful big Buff Orpington, from the rest of "the reds". Only one is a Rhode Island Red, but another is supposed to be a golden sex link, but she looks exactly like her. The other is a brown and black Easter Egger (but still reddish in color) who may turn out to be a rooster. They have always gotten along beautifully and been sweet and loving to each other. But in the last few weeks they have been chasing Buffy and I've noticed some pecked spots on her ears, and around her beak. Today I put her in the dog crate without the floor (so she can access the grass on the lawn.), with the cover on top for shade. The others are in the coop/run and they can see the special treatment she is getting (her own food and water, grass, meal worms, and watermelon), but they can't get to her. I am sure it is the EE who is spurring the others on to aggressive behavior. I think I have seen them blocking her from getting water.
So, do you think if I put the crate inside the run with the bully inside the others would calm down? Will they resent Buffy because she is getting special treatment.?