One of my five hens is being singled out and attacked.

[Sioux7]

I've raised five sweet hens who have suddenly decided to attack one of my two Australorpes. I have segregated her hoping I can find an answer. This just started two days ago, and just today I can see pecks to the top of her head. They have a6x9' coop, and 3-6 hours daily out side in a fenced garden area that is planted with winter greens just for them, so I know they have ample room and food. They were all babies together and were getting along fine. I think it may be one of the Ameraucaunas that starated it.

Can anyone help?

 

[Den in Penn]

Welcome to BYC.
If the one picked on isn't bleeding, generally the best way to handle it is to remove the one who starts the problem. Put her in complete isolation from the others for a week. That puts her back into the flock where she has to reintroduce herself to the pecking order before she can lead the others to pick on the one that was picked before. She may take a long time to work her way back up, and by then the rest of the flock dynamics may have changed.

 

[Sioux7]

OK, so you are saying to remove the agressor. I'll have to do some watching tomorrow. I'm thinking it is one of my Ameraucanas. The one attacked is an Austrolorpe. Not sure where I'll be able to put her!

 

[Sioux7]

OK, so I will just have to do some watching. I think its one of the Australorpes. I think the one that's attacking is one of my two Ameracaunas. Hope this works. Not sure where I can keep her...

 

[Den in Penn]

Yes the aggressor gets separated. Finding a place to separate one is usually a problem for people with smaller flocks. I have a collapsible dog crate just in case.

 

[Ehirning]

I use a collapsible dog crate as well. We call it "chicken jail". I've even used a smaller one for a broody hen. Sometimes you can find them on craigslist at a decent price or even free.

 

[Sioux7]

Just want to mention what I did with the chicken that was being abused. We have a nice goat barn with an unused 'birthing room.' It is now Ida's quarters. We made the door smaller so the goats and donkey could not get in and kept her up for about four days. Now she comes and goes on her own and mixes in with the 8 pygmy goats and donkey. She is starting to regrow all her head feathers that were pecked out, and she seems really happy. However, she is no longer laying. She's an Australorpe so I miss her big eggs. I'm hoping this is just temporary. She's about 8 months old. The other 4 hens seem totally fine and I see no continued agression, so I guess Ida will just live with the goats.

 

[bird sitter]

Why not keep her with the chickens?

 

[Sioux7]

the other four were attacking her neck to the point of bleeding and she had lost most of her head feathers.

 

[Sioux7]

Ida is really loving being with the goats, and on her own decided to leave the 'birthing room' set up for her, and she roosts in with the goats. My husband gives her a hand full of the donkey's food each night when he feeds, and he says she 'sings to him' the whole time. After she got over at the goat barn, she went through a partial molt and is no longer laying at all. She's an Australorpe and was laying every day before that. She just may be taking a winter break??? She seems really happy and has regrown all the feather the other gals had picked from her neck.

The other gals are all fine and no one is pecking the other, so I guess she was just the 'odd one out.'