Plucky little bully pullet

[mandymuddymonkey]

I have 4 pullet babies that I moved outside 4 days ago. Two of them are 8 weeks old and two are 6 weeks old. In the brooder they were getting along like peas and carrots, but now on day 4 of being outside, one of the littler ones is suddenly attacking the other three. I don't *think* she's being mean: I think she discovered she loves eating feathers and has realized her mates are walking feather buffets. However, this sudden habit was terrorizing the other three, such that they started hiding and wouldn't come out to eat or drink water, etc, and she pulled a lot of feathers off their backs. I wish they would realize they're all bigger than she is and they don't have to put up with this, but as we all know they're not the brightest animals on this green earth . . .

I went ahead and put the problem pullet in a cage with her own food and water, but well in sight of the other birds, as I know sometimes that can reset the pecking order dynamics, at least in older birds. Is this the right move? How long should I isolate her? If she was bigger and eating the same food as my older girls, I would just throw her in early with them and let them sort her out. But she's still pretty small, and not eating layer feed yet.

Since isolating her the other 3 are much calmer and moving around comfortably going about their day. Should I put her with them when they go to bed tonight, and see if she wakes up a little reset tomorrow?

 

[mandymuddymonkey]

Update: I put her with the others in the roost for the night . . . and this morning she was pulling the same shenanigans. I guess I should try to keep her apart from them for a few days? The others all have bald spots on their back from her

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

Welcome to BYC. Sorry nobody has replied yet. I’m not an expert but I’ll give it a go… Feather plucking and eating may be an outward behavioral sign indicating a need for more protein in the diet. What do you feed, including treats?
Make sure you have adequate space in the coop and on the roost. Generally for standard breeds 4sf in the coop, 10sf in a run, and 1 sf linear roost space keeps things peaceful.
Another possibility is the pullet is establishing herself in the pecking order above her brooder mates, with the behavior triggered by the stress of the move. You have separated the problem girl, so take this opportunity to evaluate feeding, roost space.

 

[mandymuddymonkey]

Thank you for the reply!

Well, the coop/run is like a castle compared to the brooder cage they had been in, so they have plenty of room. The food is the same: starter mash, with a plan to start mixing that with grower feed in a week and a half or so (when the littles get to 8 weeks), so it's high protein. I am not cutting that with treats at all yet.

It's possible the roosting box is a little small for the four of them, though they still aren't full grown, so I figured it would be plenty big for them for now. So maybe that's the stressor. Area-wise it isn't any smaller than the whole cage they were living in until I moved them outside. They aren't taking naturally to going up there at night to sleep. They keep trying to bed down in the run, which has a hardware cloth footprint, but it's basically on the ground. I have been manually putting them up in the roosting box each night, hoping they'll start to understand the habit of it. I did this with my first flock years ago and they got it after one night. The second flock didn't even need help. Now with this one, I feel like every little thing is becoming a major ordeal. Maybe I should just let them sleep in the run until they're big enough to introduce to the older birds, who are living in the bigger roost.

To clarify my set-up: I have 2 roosts/nesting areas and two runs, which can be connected, or separated by a screen. This is helpful for when I raise chicks but still have older hens, or when I need to separate either a sick hen or a bully. Then there is a larger run that I open up for the bigger girls each morning. So the pullets are in the half with the smaller roost, but again, they are much smaller still, and I didn't want to disrupt the older girls by swapping which coop they're in. Once they're full grown and eating layer feed, my plan is to move the younger lot in with the older girls in the bigger roost overnight, and take the screen away that has been separating them. Also to keep both feeders and water stations so no one gets crowded out.

These first 4 photos are the section the pullets are in (also the cage where Polly the Plucky Punk is currently in jail). Photos 5-8 (next reply) are the other section, with the bigger roost and also the extended run, with the bigger girls in it/perching.

 

[mandymuddymonkey]

Here's the other part of the whole set-up, where the older girls are currently living.

 

[mandymuddymonkey]

Update 2: I isolated Polly for 3 days, then tried to let her hang with the others. She did okay for a hot minute: just eating, drinking, feisting off a little with the other little. Then she started plucking feathers again. So she's back in jail, and it's so sad when she panics watching the others go up to roost at night (they're finally starting to get it on that front). Do I isolate her for a week this time? Keep her separate until they're ready to mix with the big girls? I'm pretty sure the big girls will sort her out once she's big enough, but that's weeks away.

The other option I've come across are the pinless peepers, but it seems like they're all for full-grown birds. Do they make them pullet-sized?

 

[My Three Chicks]

I'm sorry you are dealing with this. Sounds very odd. I am fairly new to chicken raising and haven't encountered the same issue. But I'm going to tag some experts for you so hopefully someone can give you helpful advice to make the situation better for all.
@azygous @Eggcessive @aart @Wyorp Rock

 

[LaFleche]

Could you post some pictures of Polly for us?

Maybe try and put her in with the adults.

 

[azygous]

Pinless peepers are a last resort for full size chickens.

For small young birds, discipline is the method I use when a chick is bullying or feather snatching. When she goes for a victim, be on the ready. You will use your finger as a "beak" and discipline the junior bully by "pecking" her on the back of the head when you see her employ her aggressive agenda.

If you put this pullet back with her mates and spend an hour or so focused on applying discipline each time she goes at a mate's feathers, this will embed in her mind as unacceptable behavior much more quickly than any other method, and it will be long lasting.

 

[Eggcessive]

I really have no experience with pinless peepers, but that seems a bit young to try them. You have to watch so they don’t irritate the nostrils. I would guess that the problem is too little room and things to occupy little busy bodies. Is the protein 20%? Meat bird feed is 22% in some cases and you can bump up protein if your feed is less than 20%. Maybe try to make their area larger, and add some things to climb on, roosts, and hiding spots.