TreeChick
Chirping
Hi friends,
I am struggling with one of my hens, Pepper - she’s about 1 year old and Australorp chicken who is being very very aggressive to 2 newly introduced birds. The first new bird (Cookie) was introduced slowly over a number of months and has been in the flock now since September. The second new bird (Bean) a rescue was introduced in December of last year after about a month of quarantine - I rescued her from a shelter. The days are easy for both new birds - Cookie eats, flocks and dust bathes with all other birds in the flock pretty seamlessly (there’s 5 other hens including Pepper). Bean - the newer newbie - she hasn’t fully been accepted still gets chased and pecked by most of the other girls during the day but nothing serious and I don’t intervene with the day time quibbles. I always have two sources of food and water in the pen FYI.
The problem is nighttime - Pepper (the issue hen) acts like coop bouncer sitting in the doorway of the coop and pecking to prevent Cookie and Bean from entering or chases them around the coop itself once they get past her - pinning, pulling feathers... she ripped Bean’s comb last week drawing blood... after this I isolated and treated Beans comb for several days.
I now go out to the coop to monitor every night but that seems to stress Pepper out even more! She sees me and gets nervous and won’t settle on the roost and let the 2 other girls get in the coop but if I’m not nearby she torments them and is truly cruel...
Should I isolate Pepper - the mean girl? It’s so frustrating!!
I am struggling with one of my hens, Pepper - she’s about 1 year old and Australorp chicken who is being very very aggressive to 2 newly introduced birds. The first new bird (Cookie) was introduced slowly over a number of months and has been in the flock now since September. The second new bird (Bean) a rescue was introduced in December of last year after about a month of quarantine - I rescued her from a shelter. The days are easy for both new birds - Cookie eats, flocks and dust bathes with all other birds in the flock pretty seamlessly (there’s 5 other hens including Pepper). Bean - the newer newbie - she hasn’t fully been accepted still gets chased and pecked by most of the other girls during the day but nothing serious and I don’t intervene with the day time quibbles. I always have two sources of food and water in the pen FYI.
The problem is nighttime - Pepper (the issue hen) acts like coop bouncer sitting in the doorway of the coop and pecking to prevent Cookie and Bean from entering or chases them around the coop itself once they get past her - pinning, pulling feathers... she ripped Bean’s comb last week drawing blood... after this I isolated and treated Beans comb for several days.
I now go out to the coop to monitor every night but that seems to stress Pepper out even more! She sees me and gets nervous and won’t settle on the roost and let the 2 other girls get in the coop but if I’m not nearby she torments them and is truly cruel...
Should I isolate Pepper - the mean girl? It’s so frustrating!!