Picked on pullet has no friends

[andalusn]

The group was hatched in April and doing just fine.... until this weekend. These birds are not little babies, they are getting some size to them now.

Found two with bloody toes on Saturday being chased and attacked. The BLRW were obsessed about chasing and pecking the white toes of Lily (white Opington) & a young Penedesenca rooster. They were also grabbing his waddle besides his toes. No blood on the waddle but toe was sore and bleeding. I caught both of them, applied blue-kote and placed them in kennels waiting for it to dry. when I tried to put them back in the flock went nuts and went for the now purple toes again. It's looking like I can't integrate these two birds anytime soon back into the group. I don't really have a pen that I can put these two in while I wait this out and thinking that as more time goes by they will just be not part of any flock. Right now I have Lily by herself in an empty Serama cage and she will get lonely I am sure. Considering who to take from the pen to give her company is tough too...

 

[CityClucks]

Would it be possible for you to separate the Bullies instead of taking out the Victims? I've found that when I've removed the troublemakers for a while and allowed the flock to readjust, the bullies are brought down a few pegs when they are reintroduced.

 

[TwoCrows]

X2

I have had this problem before and what you can do is find out who is doing the bullying and separate them for 2 full weeks, by themselves. It helps if the bully can see the others and the others can see the bully. So what happens is, that the pecking order changes a bit. It not only takes the bully down a few notches, but allows others to possibly take his/ her place. Even the ones being bullied have a chance to move up the ladder.

If you do not have another place to keep this bully at night, allow them to sleep with the others. But come first thing in the morning, put the bully in him/her own area alone. Sometimes bullying is contagious and they will all join in the process. But it is usually one instigator that starts the entire thing.

Don't allow these bully birds to get on the others. Separate now before it escalates to the point of death of one of your precious birds.

Good luck

 

[andalusn]

That is my challenge, as soon as I put the bird back in someone starts it so quick and the others join it that is so hard to isolate who really started the whole thing. I may try to release the rooster this evening and hopefully pin point my instigator. They look so much alike when they are running and packing

and the picked on one is just trying to get away in any direction possible.