- Oct 25, 2010
- 5
- 1
- 9
My mommy said that I should post...
Why is my chicken getting picked on? Can anybody help me find out why?
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We have 3 hens (black feather-legged silkie and frizzle cochin bantams and a Rhode Island Red) and a Blue Cochin Bantam Rooster. We picked them up at the feed store, and they didn't tell us that they were all different -- just Bantams and a Rhode Island Red. We have had them from about 4 weeks old and they have all been together. They started laying around July.
Recently, though, the rooster and the Rhode Island have been picking on the silkie -- pecking at her head when she tries to eat, chasing her off a bit, etc. to the point where she doesn't have her little afro puffed up on her head any more.
It just looks sad. She stays with them in the coop fine, but we often find her roosting alone where the others huddle or perch together. When they are out (free range), they will often be close (within several feet), but you more often see her several yards away from the others.
Where we are in the country (on a 300 acre parcel with lots of woods), when she is chased off and spends a lot of time alone, she is just ripe for the picking on any hungry hawk or coyote.
Is there any way to stop this? Should we just get a few more silkies for her to flock with? She is a good egg layer and doesn't seem to be sick, and she is very sweet.
Why is my chicken getting picked on? Can anybody help me find out why?
---
We have 3 hens (black feather-legged silkie and frizzle cochin bantams and a Rhode Island Red) and a Blue Cochin Bantam Rooster. We picked them up at the feed store, and they didn't tell us that they were all different -- just Bantams and a Rhode Island Red. We have had them from about 4 weeks old and they have all been together. They started laying around July.
Recently, though, the rooster and the Rhode Island have been picking on the silkie -- pecking at her head when she tries to eat, chasing her off a bit, etc. to the point where she doesn't have her little afro puffed up on her head any more.

Where we are in the country (on a 300 acre parcel with lots of woods), when she is chased off and spends a lot of time alone, she is just ripe for the picking on any hungry hawk or coyote.
Is there any way to stop this? Should we just get a few more silkies for her to flock with? She is a good egg layer and doesn't seem to be sick, and she is very sweet.