Possible bullying? Need insight.

[RootedTogetherHomestead]

We have 6 pullets (2 Barred Rocks, 2 Golden Lace, 1 Easter Egger, and 1 Sapphire Sky/Gem). Everyone has been getting along well; the occasional pecking happens or a short chase away, but nothing that causes injury or makes hens avoid one another.. Until Sunday. We noticed on Sunday that Lavender (our EE) was hiding in the coop and away from everyone. We observed what was happening. Sunshine (our goldie) was chasing her around almost non-stop to the point that Lavender avoided Sunshine completely. Our goldies (Sunshine and Marigold) are almost inseparable, but Marigold doesn't do anything towards Lavender. Our goldies have been sleeping on the corner at night and not roosting; however, some day last week, they were roosting on the bar with everyone else.. I noticed that Marigold was next to Lavender, and Sunshine was at the other end.. I noticed Sunshine tried to nudge Lavender from her spot, but she did not move. Then the goldies went back to sleeping on the floor in the corner.

Lavender is obviously at the bottom of the pecking order and is very timid. However, none of the other girls are like that at all towards her. So, after we noticed that Lavender was in obvious distress from Sunshine, we crated Sunshine. Sunshine is in the runner, in her own crate with food/water, and almost immediately, Lavender came out and was doing her usual stuff. Monday and yesterday, Sunshine was crated for doing the same chasing.. Yesterday evening (it is very hot where we are), I let her out, and she didn't chase Lavender at all; however, that changed this morning, and she chased/pulled feathers. Sunshine also does a hackle flash at us and does not like us holding her at all. We also saw that she was doing a sort of charge attack where her body was low to the ground and she ran up towards Marigold (our other goldie). I hate putting her in the crate, but I also hate seeing Lavender hiding and darting away from Sunshine, even when she isn't chasing her.. I understand pecking order chicken stuff will happen, but I feel Lavender was bullied, and Sunshine was excessively aggressive. (or am I wrong?) Lavender does not fight back/stand her ground. I just do not want anyone seriously hurt, or Lavender not getting food/water/dust bath.

Please give us advice on what to do. My heart cannot take it. Thanks y'all.

 

[thecatumbrella]

I'm really sorry. I went through this myself only a few weeks ago. Your Sunshine = my Flora. Flora even did the same behavior of puffing out at us, which was pretty bizarre. I think her laying hormones were starting to come in, and she just hated the world. She would chase her victim relentlessly. That, to me, is outside of normal pecking order.

We did one week of penning Flora alongside the main pen. Everyone did fantastic through the mesh paneling. When we let her out a week later, she immediately searched for and instigated a mob against her victim. Constant chasing/pecking/kicking, same as you.

Others will offer you some excellent advice. @azygous in particular has a lot of experience dealing with the bully/victim dynamic. For me, personally, I only have so much patience for an aggressive bird. I rehomed mine with a full disclosure of her behavior, and she's doing great in her new free-range home with cockerels to keep her in check.

I know what you mean about it breaking your heart. Unfortunately, this seems to be part of chicken dynamics. We don't free range, and that absolutely can bring undesirable behaviors to a head.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

We have 6 pullets (2 Barred Rocks, 2 Golden Lace, 1 Easter Egger, and 1 Sapphire Sky/Gem). Everyone has been getting along well; the occasional pecking happens or a short chase away, but nothing that causes injury or makes hens avoid one another.. Until Sunday. We noticed on Sunday that Lavender (our EE) was hiding in the coop and away from everyone. We observed what was happening. Sunshine (our goldie) was chasing her around almost non-stop to the point that Lavender avoided Sunshine completely. Our goldies (Sunshine and Marigold) are almost inseparable, but Marigold doesn't do anything towards Lavender. Our goldies have been sleeping on the corner at night and not roosting; however, some day last week, they were roosting on the bar with everyone else.. I noticed that Marigold was next to Lavender, and Sunshine was at the other end.. I noticed Sunshine tried to nudge Lavender from her spot, but she did not move. Then the goldies went back to sleeping on the floor in the corner.

Lavender is obviously at the bottom of the pecking order and is very timid. However, none of the other girls are like that at all towards her. So, after we noticed that Lavender was in obvious distress from Sunshine, we crated Sunshine. Sunshine is in the runner, in her own crate with food/water, and almost immediately, Lavender came out and was doing her usual stuff. Monday and yesterday, Sunshine was crated for doing the same chasing.. Yesterday evening (it is very hot where we are), I let her out, and she didn't chase Lavender at all; however, that changed this morning, and she chased/pulled feathers. Sunshine also does a hackle flash at us and does not like us holding her at all. We also saw that she was doing a sort of charge attack where her body was low to the ground and she ran up towards Marigold (our other goldie). I hate putting her in the crate, but I also hate seeing Lavender hiding and darting away from Sunshine, even when she isn't chasing her.. I understand pecking order chicken stuff will happen, but I feel Lavender was bullied, and Sunshine was excessively aggressive. (or am I wrong?) Lavender does not fight back/stand her ground. I just do not want anyone seriously hurt, or Lavender not getting food/water/dust bath.

Please give us advice on what to do. My heart cannot take it. Thanks y'all.

How big is your run, in feet? Do you have plenty of "clutter," meaning things for your lavender to hide behind, run through, get under or on top of, etc.? For example, a pallet leaning against a wall or fence; a pallet set up on blocks or sawhorses; a large PVC tunnel, old coffee table, chairs laying down on their sides. This will make your run look very messy, but will give your lavender places to get away from Sunshine. Also, how many feeders and water stations do you have? You need multiples and they need to be out of eyeshot of each other so Sunshine can't see Lavender eating/ drinking and run her off. These strategies may not stop the bullying but should give Lavender some relief.

 

[RootedTogetherHomestead]

How big is your run, in feet? Do you have plenty of "clutter," meaning things for your lavender to hide behind, run through, get under or on top of, etc.? For example, a pallet leaning against a wall or fence; a pallet set up on blocks or sawhorses; a large PVC tunnel, old coffee table, chairs laying down on their sides. This will make your run look very messy, but will give your lavender places to get away from Sunshine. Also, how many feeders and water stations do you have? You need multiples and they need to be out of eyeshot of each other so Sunshine can't see Lavender eating/ drinking and run her off. These strategies may not stop the bullying but should give Lavender some relief.

Our run is 72 sq ft, and the henhouse is 24 sq ft. We are looking into getting a covered tractor for them to have more space outside the runner. We have 1 big feeder that I have turned into the center of the runner that provides some cover on the backside, and 2 other smaller feeders that they used as chicks. We have 8 individual cups for water, and I have 1 other water that they also used when they were chicks. No. We did not have much in there for them (fixed some of that today). We have a roosting bar on one side of the runner. I have an old plastic milk crate in there now, and I used the plastic bottom of an old kennel leaned against the wall that lavender likes to hang around to make a tunnel. I am going to be adding smaller, higher-up perches for them tomorrow, hopefully. We got 2 puzzle toys and 2 of those veggie hanging thingies as well.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Our run is 72 sq ft, and the henhouse is 24 sq ft. We are looking into getting a covered tractor for them to have more space outside the runner. We have 1 big feeder that I have turned into the center of the runner that provides some cover on the backside, and 2 other smaller feeders that they used as chicks. We have 8 individual cups for water, and I have 1 other water that they also used when they were chicks. No. We did not have much in there for them (fixed some of that today). We have a roosting bar on one side of the runner. I have an old plastic milk crate in there now, and I used the plastic bottom of an old kennel leaned against the wall that lavender likes to hang around to make a tunnel. I am going to be adding smaller, higher-up perches for them tomorrow, hopefully. We got 2 puzzle toys and 2 of those veggie hanging thingies as well.

Toys are cute but you need maybe a couple more pieces of larger clutter, the point is to break line of sight in the space so the bullied bird gets relief. Examples can be found here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/page-6#post-25037140

With multiple feeders, make sure they're spread out and also at least partially behind clutter so that birds can't see where everyone else is eating at all times.