Pecking order

[jesvan]

I need help. I've had 5 hens and a rooster for almost 2 years now. The last week or so the smaller white hen has been getting bullied by 3 of the other hens. One of the hens and the rooster seem to try to protect her from the bully hens. I want to try everything I can before attempting to find her a new flock. she hides in the nesting box all the time unless i take her out so i can protect her from the bully hens so she can eat, drink, and stretch her legs. any suggestions will help. I get so attached to my animals it breaks my heart at the thought of losing her.

 

[JaeG]

Has she gone broody? When hens are broody the other hens often pick on that one, then once the hen has stopped being broody every goes back to normal. A broody hen will stop laying, sit on the nestbox all day, puff up and sometimes growl (sometimes even try to peck you) when you go anywhere near her.

But if not you could try fencing off the one that's the ring leader (it might take a bit of observing to figure out who's being the worst) and see if the other two stop.

Hopefully some other people have some more ideas too.

 

[jesvan]

she was starting to brood a few weeks ago but she seemed to pop out of it. I kept taking the eggs and getting her out of the box. I wander if she is brooding with no eggs under her. the rest of the hens started laying there eggs in a different nesting box. The bullying started about a week maybe a few days more ago, she hasn't layed any egged for 4-5 days.

 

[JaeG]

It's very common for a broody to be picked on (because they are acting differently) and they get attached to their nest rather than eggs. They'll quite happily sit on nothing in their chosen spot. If all the others are laying in a different box I think your little girl is quite good at defending her nest. Often the other chickens will push a broody out (or just sit on her) so they can lay in the favourite box.

 

[Peeps61]

Yes, it sounds like the broodiness is what is causing the pecking. My broodies screech loudly at other hens trying to lay in their nests. Some are successful at laying, others are not and choose to lay elsewhere. If I allow a broody to sit on a clutch of eggs, I mark the ones she's sitting on with a pencil and collect any others that are laid in the nest daily. If she wasn't bullied before, and she's sitting on the nest, she may still be broody and thing will go back to normal when she's out of her broody cycle.

 

[aart]

Sounds still broody to me.
Is she staying on nest all night too?