- Sep 2, 2008
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This may be long, bare with me!
We have 4 hens, they will be 2 in September. 2 EEs, 1 Wyandotte, and 1 Cochin. We though it would be fun to get 2 more chicks, so we built and extension on the coop, got 2 baby Wellies, and kept our fingers crossed. When the Wellies were old enough, we started the slow introduction and finally got them living in a dog crate in the coop, so visible but separate. We would let them all free-range together to start working out the pecking order and it was very violent. The Cochin (Pants) was the worst. We tried to stay out of it, but it was bloody and someone was going to lose an eye. Once Pants started beating up the little girls, the rest got involved and it was really terrible. After a few weeks of trying, we gave up and sent the Wellies to a new home where it's just the two of them.
Now Pants has been kicked out of the flock. The other hens attack her and she doesn't even sleep on the roost anymore. She sleeps in the nest box and stays there all day. She doesn't lay eggs, the others are laying eggs next to the nest since it's always occupied. It's a mess. Last night I picked her up and put her on the roost, but by morning she was in the box again.
There is one hen who is more aggressive than the others. Should I giver her a time-out? She can live in the crate for a few days, maybe let Pants make friends with the other two again.
What is going on with these crazy chickens? Help!
We have 4 hens, they will be 2 in September. 2 EEs, 1 Wyandotte, and 1 Cochin. We though it would be fun to get 2 more chicks, so we built and extension on the coop, got 2 baby Wellies, and kept our fingers crossed. When the Wellies were old enough, we started the slow introduction and finally got them living in a dog crate in the coop, so visible but separate. We would let them all free-range together to start working out the pecking order and it was very violent. The Cochin (Pants) was the worst. We tried to stay out of it, but it was bloody and someone was going to lose an eye. Once Pants started beating up the little girls, the rest got involved and it was really terrible. After a few weeks of trying, we gave up and sent the Wellies to a new home where it's just the two of them.
Now Pants has been kicked out of the flock. The other hens attack her and she doesn't even sleep on the roost anymore. She sleeps in the nest box and stays there all day. She doesn't lay eggs, the others are laying eggs next to the nest since it's always occupied. It's a mess. Last night I picked her up and put her on the roost, but by morning she was in the box again.
There is one hen who is more aggressive than the others. Should I giver her a time-out? She can live in the crate for a few days, maybe let Pants make friends with the other two again.
What is going on with these crazy chickens? Help!
