One is getting her tail feathers plucked by the others

[Wyorp Rock]

Is it only one chick that is going after her? If so, in this particular circumstance I would try separating the bully chick for a few days.

 

[Peppercorngal]

I personally believe that space is the key. They will continue to peck this girl until they have sufficient space and entertainment to focus on doing other chicken things. A dog crate is too small. They need more room. You will have to deal with this until you have an enclosed area for them that will allow them space to be chickens. Sorry, this must be very frustrating for you.

 

[getaclue]

Is she isolated from the group, or can they see her? It's important that they be able to see her, but not get to her to injure her. As others have asked, but I didn't see a response, is it all of them picking on her, or just one or two?

 

[SarahMac54]

Is it only one chick that is going after her? If so, in this particular circumstance I would try separating the bully chick for a few days.

Yes- the one chicken which I now believe is the one who started it last time. But by the time I realized it, others were pecking her too- I think it was because she was bleeding. Today they were outside having a great time and I reintroduced her. They all pecked away at the ground for a while - flew about and made merry, and the only one who started with her about an hour and a half in was this same bully. I spoke to someone I know who raises chickens and he said let them work it out. Separate the bleeding one for sure but try to let the other 5 establish their order. I am trying not to interfere with the natural orde of things but I think she is a problem. I made a much bigger brooder box with side rooms and places to hide. I put them out in a run today to burn off some energy and play around. I am doing everyting I think I am supposed to- I will try reintroducing her and if this one starts on her I will separate her and see if the others leave her alone. If they do, I will keep bully separated for a little bit, I have a containment partition in the pen so that they are all still together. It is still a bit cold for them outside, but I think I need them in that coop. I just like being able to monitor the situation and know that no one is in danger before I leave them out there.

 

[SarahMac54]

Is she isolated from the group, or can they see her? It's important that they be able to see her, but not get to her to injure her. As others have asked, but I didn't see a response, is it all of them picking on her, or just one or two?

I think it's the one chicken which I now believe is the one who started it last time. But by the time I realized it, others were pecking her too- I think it was because she was bleeding. Today they were outside having a great time and I reintroduced her. They all pecked away at the ground for a while - flew about and made merry, and the only one who started with her about an hour and a half in was this same bully. I spoke to someone I know who raises chickens and he said let them work it out. Separate the bleeding one for sure but try to let the other 5 establish their order. I am trying not to interfere with the natural orde of things but I think she is a problem. I made a much bigger brooder box with side rooms and places to hide. I put them out in a run today to burn off some energy and play around. I am doing everyting I think I am supposed to- I will try reintroducing her and if this one starts on her I will separate her and see if the others leave her alone. If they do, I will keep bully separated for a little bit, I have a containment partition in the pen so that they are all still together. It is still a bit cold for them outside, but I think I need them in that coop. I just like being able to monitor the situation and know that no one is in danger before I leave them out there.

 

[SarahMac54]

I personally believe that space is the key. They will continue to peck this girl until they have sufficient space and entertainment to focus on doing other chicken things. A dog crate is too small. They need more room. You will have to deal with this until you have an enclosed area for them that will allow them space to be chickens. Sorry, this must be very frustrating for you.

It is- You get such conflicting info that it is hard to know what to do when you are new at it. That's why I am so thankful for this site. The girls had a decent amount of space today and it was all fine until the bully started on her. I saw a drop of blood and took her out. The others were not pecking her. I noticed bully girl all over everyone else, too. I think she is the problem. As much as I want to keep them together and let nature do its thing, I also need to be able to put them out there and not worry about them ganging up on her. The fact that this one is so all over everyone - Tomorrow if there is any difficuty with her - I will have to separate her from the group and if no one else bothers the pecked one , then the bully will be contained until I can figure out next steps.

We are building a run for them tomorrow. Coop is up, but they are not in it yet. too cold. It's fine now that it is the weekend - I can spend time out there, but during the week, I need them to be alone and ok. This is so much harder than I thought it would be!

 

[No More Empty Nest]

Try the Rooster Booster Peck No More if they continue to peck at her. I had a Polish chick and the others pecked at her head feathers. That stuff worked wonders, but I had to reapply it every few days for a while. But lesson learned, I now know not to have a single Polish in a mixed flock.

EDIT: She was so cute, her white top feathers were all purple, she was our punk rock chick, lol

 

[SarahMac54]

Try the Rooster Booster Peck No More if they continue to peck at her. I had a Polish chick and the others pecked at her head feathers. That stuff worked wonders, but I had to reapply it every few days for a while. But lesson learned, I now know not to have a single Polish in a mixed flock.

EDIT: She was so cute, her white top feathers were all purple, she was our punk rock chick, lol

So cute

 

[getaclue]

When dealing with chickens, I try to catch the bully, and pen the bully up for 4 days, then re-introduce. If the bullying starts again, I pen the bully another 3 days. By then the rest of the flock has established pecking order, is getting alone, and it's the bully that's the newcomer, and going to get put in their place.

 

[SarahMac54]

When dealing with chickens, I try to catch the bully, and pen the bully up for 4 days, then re-introduce. If the bullying starts again, I pen the bully another 3 days. By then the rest of the flock has established pecking order, is getting alone, and it's the bully that's the newcomer, and going to get put in their place.

I guess I let her back in too early. Some people were advising me to let them settle it, but the injured one is now drawing blood again. She was fine with the others. She is so aggressive.