Picking on one chicken

[Tbrad]

My current flock has been established for a few months except 2 roos have come into their roles. Now 2 of my ladies, maybe 3, have of started pecking on one of the others. She was cornering herself trying to keep the from pecking her head and now she had a good chunk of feathers missing from her neck. She is isolated now but why is this happening and can it be fixed/ prevented from happening again?

 

[Tonyroo]

I'm not understanding who is pecking at who. And your setup wasn't described. So I can't comment.

 

[Tbrad]

I'm not understanding who is pecking at who. And your setup wasn't described. So I can't comment.

I have 16 ladies, 2 roos. I've had the coop for 1.5 years and the rooster are the most recent change. Other than that the coop has been running well. It's not space or water/food as they have plenty of that. I'm surprised that it's happening because these ladies have together awhile and expected a different lady to be pecked that's lower on the pecking order.

Not sure what else to add

 

[Tonyroo]

The flock dynamics change as the chickens get older. Sometimes it doesn't work out for the lower pecking order hens, something has stressed the flock to behave badly.

The only way to really know is to spend a lot of time and observe what's happening.

 

[Mrs. K]

It more than likely won't go back to the way it was before. Raising chickens together, really does not have the effect of best friends forever. For whatever reason, they don't want her in the flock. I would re home the victim...and watch.

If a new victim is chosen - then cull the bully.

But as a chicken keeper - you need to change something.

Mrs K

 

[aart]

My current flock has been established for a few months except 2 roos have come into their roles.

So these birds are only about 3-4 months old?
Multiple males can cause trouble.

I have 16 ladies, 2 roos. I've had the coop for 1.5 years and the rooster are the most recent change.

Newly added males?

How big is the coop and run, in feet by feet?
Dimensions, and especially pics, would help immensely here.

 

[Ridgerunner]

See if I have this right. You have 16 girls of unknown age. Are the girls laying yet? Two or three of the girls are attacking a specific one of the other girls.

You have recently added two boys of unknown age.

We do not know what your facilities look like, not just size but how they are laid out. Where does this attacking take place? In the coop? In the run?

She was cornering herself trying to keep the from pecking her head and now she had a good chunk of feathers missing from her neck.

I assume spell correct got you, that you meant to say covering to protect her head. When chickens are attacked and are losing, they tend to run away. Then they stay away, avoid the stronger chicken. If they can get away life is often good. But if they cannot get away, say they are trapped against a fence or wall, they usually hunker down and try to protect their head. If they don't run away the attacker does not realize they won the fight so they keep attacking. Pecking at the head is how they kill other chickens. You did well to isolate her.

I don't know what triggered the attack. One can possibly develop an intense dislike of another, maybe when going through puberty and as they mature. They may be sorting out the pecking order as they mature or adding the boys may have disrupted the pecking order. The second or third joining in may just be mob mentality, one is down so it's a good time to bully her or maybe even kill her.

If a chicken is sick or injured the flock may turn on them. That's a survival instinct from before they were domesticated, when they were still feral. A sick or injured chicken can attract predators to threaten the entire flock so they try to get rid of it.

I know you said you have lots of space, but people have said that before on here when lack of space was the real problem. That's why we ask for specifics. Or someone reads that 4 square feet in the coop and 10 in the run and thinks that is a lot. It's usually enough in most circumstances but may not be when you are integrating or they are hitting maturity and establishing the pecking order. For what it is worth, I had a cockerel develop an intense dislike for another cockerel. I thought my 3,000 square feet of space would be enough but I was wrong. That cockerel trapped him against a fence and killed him by pecking at his head.

I don't know if we can figure out what is going on or not. But if they are pinning her down and attacking the head it is serious.