Reign of Terror

[SoCalClucker]

Our flock of 8 had an RIR as the alpha for years and she was a calm, protective leader. She then passed, and an Australorp has stepped up and is creating a Reign of Terror. It's been well over a month now, but she still feels the need to assert herself by abusing the other girls. She still picks fights, kicked a laying hen out of the nesting box today so she could lay there, and regularly pecks at the other girls for no reason. You'll laugh at me but I swear the mood in the run is unsettled! One cuckoo maran seems to get it the worst, and is practically bald on her back, right in front of her tail. It definitely looks like physical damage. A few of the other girls have broken and pecked feathers in that area too, but not nearly as badly. I dabbed some Blu-Kote on the cuckoo today, hoping it would help, but is there anything else I can do? DH is not above "disappearing" her. If she keeps this up, I just might not try to talk him out of it. What a mean girl!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

You could try removing her for a while to see if she loses some confidence. I would pen her separately either away from the flock or right in the coop. She sounds mad with power, but may settle down after a cool down period.

 

[aart]

Yeah, get her out of there asap.
Invite her to dinner,
or keep her separate for at least 2-3 weeks while the flock readjusts the pecking order.

 

[dheltzel]

If you can, add a roo to your flock. He will settle things down fast and the alpha girl will nicely submit to an alpha roo. I keep a roo or 2 in every pen, it really helps with this sort of thing.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

If you can, add a roo to your flock. He will settle things down fast and the alpha girl will nicely submit to an alpha roo. I keep a roo or 2 in every pen, it really helps with this sort of thing.

I know there's a joke here somewhere about it going to women's heads when they get in power, but I just can't find it at the moment.

 

[aldarita]

The harmony of your flock is very important, you don't want stressed hens because it is not good for their health and their egg laying. Separate the bully as soon as you can, it is not worth it to keep her in your flock

 

[Ridgerunner]

Yeah, get her out of there asap.
Invite her to dinner,
or keep her separate for at least 2-3 weeks while the flock readjusts the pecking order.

I agree with this. You can try either one, separating her temporarily might change the pecking order so she is no longer the one in charge, might not. But a month is long enough.

 

[SoCalClucker]

Soup?

 

[SoCalClucker]

Today as Intervention Day 1. The Mean Hen was allowed to eat, drink, investigate the new nest boxes with the flock this morning, but then was promptly kicked out. Unfortunately keeping her confined in a small area and letting the rest of the girls explore a larger area wasn't possible right now, as our mini-run is being used as the nesting area for our new chicks. This mean girl doesn't like to explore much, so the hope is that being separated this way will still have the desired effect.

She's spent the day largely pacing back and forth in front of the main run, not unlike a prisoner in solitary confinement ... the girls inside are already far more relaxed, eating more, socializing more calmly, and seeking refuge from the heat without constantly looking over their shoulder to make sure a hard peck to their backside isn't coming.

Really hoping another day or two at most is all it'll take for the Mean Girl to learn her lesson. If not, we're ready to give her away. Thanks for all the suggestions!

 

[Mrs. K]

A day or two won't be enough. You really need about 2 weeks. However, solving for the peace of the flock is always a good idea. It is amazing to me, how getting rid of a cantankerous bird, can take the tension right out of the flock. Sometimes a bit of chicken math, will get too many birds in a set up, and removing a couple of them, you can feel the flock relax. Take a head count, as that might really be the "right " number of birds for your set up.