Please help! Bully chicken.

[atchickenat]

Help with a bully chicken!

My problem is the bully is only picking on ONE of my other girls. It’s getting to the point she’s afraid to come out of the coop, isolates herself away from the rest of the flock, and is hiding in corners of the run, not even wanting treats. The chicken being bullied is interestingly my biggest chicken, she’s a Bielefelder.

But again, she’s only being picked on by one chicken specifically. She’s becoming very timid. Today as soon as the bullied hen came out of the coop, I watched that one chicken immediately go after her until she stuck herself in a corner.

What can I do? Right now I put the bully in the run in a kennel to give the other one some peace.

 

[SmiYa0126]

Hi! Pull the bully from the flock for a couple of days to reset the pecking order. If she still bullies you may need to pull her for a longer time period.

 

[Altairsky]

you can use pinless peepers on the bully

 

[atchickenat]

you can use pinless peepers on the bully

I considered it, but I’ve read lots about those causing damage and hurting them.

 

[Altairsky]

I considered it, but I’ve read lots about those causing damage and hurting them.

Your bully is damaging that one girl more than pinless peepers would hurt the bully. In this case the most effective solution is to get rid of the bully or get rid of the bullied, pinless peepers might be the next best fix for the problem.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hi, welcome to the forum. Glad you joined.

I assume both are hens. How old are they?

What this sounds like to me is that your Bielefelder used to be the dominant hen but the one you are calling "bully" has taken her place, probably by fighting. This can happen when a dominant hen gets older and loses some spirit. It can happen when the dominant hen gets injured or becomes sick. And sometimes another hen just decides to take over and it works.

I don't know how that will turn out. It is possible once the Bielefelder accepts her as flock master things will sort themselves out but it is also possible she will never let the Bielefelder back in the flock.

You can try removing the new dominant hen if you want to see if that changes the pecking order or you can give them some time to see if they can work it out. As long as one is not getting physically injured I generally try to let them work these things out.

 

[atchickenat]

Hi, welcome to the forum. Glad you joined.

I assume both are hens. How old are they?

What this sounds like to me is that your Bielefelder used to be the dominant hen but the one you are calling "bully" has taken her place, probably by fighting. This can happen when a dominant hen gets older and loses some spirit. It can happen when the dominant hen gets injured or becomes sick. And sometimes another hen just decides to take over and it works.

I don't know how that will turn out. It is possible once the Bielefelder accepts her as flock master things will sort themselves out but it is also possible she will never let the Bielefelder back in the flock.

You can try removing the new dominant hen if you want to see if that changes the pecking order or you can give them some time to see if they can work it out. As long as one is not getting physically injured I generally try to let them work these things out.

 

[atchickenat]

Hi! Thank you! they are actually the same age. They turned two this March. They were raised together. The bullying has been going on for quite some time now, pretty much all summer, it’s just recently getting worse where I’m noticing my Bielefelder separating herself from the flock completely and hiding in corners of the run. Not even coming to me for treats anymore, staying in the coop in the mornings and then as soon as she comes out, the bully goes after her. Even when they are out free roaming, she’s staying by herself more now. The one being the bully isn’t my most dominant hen, I have 5 and I would say she’s probably third or second to last. None of the other hens bully my Bielefelder at all.

I separated my bully hen today but left her in the chicken run still in a large dog kennel, do I need to remove her completely to help with the pecking order? How long is suggested?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Based on your description I'm not sure what is going on. I haven't seen anything quite like that.

I'd keep her where she is for another two or three days and see what happens. If that doesn't work try separating her completely for a week. If that doesn't work you may need to choose between them for peace in the flock.

But I'll repeat. As long as no one is getting injured I'd be tempted to let them work it out. The risk of that is that one could get hurt on short notice.

 

[MrEgghead]

you can use pinless peepers on the bully

What is a pinless peeper?