Separate the bully or the bullied?

[6chicksSonoma]

If one of them is bloody, the bloodied one must be seperated for their own good. Blood attracts chickens like moths to a flame.
To answer your original question, seperate the bully. Keep her seperated for a few days to a week. As much of a pain as it is, it's important she be knocked down a few pegs on the hierachy ladder.

I have a hen (Eliza) who, only a month or so ago was being bullied. We rescued her and made sure she got enough to eat. All seemed fine but now she has taken to aggressively bullying the smallest of our 6 hens (Peggy) who also happens to be very attached to me. Over the last couple of days the Eliza has actually started pecking ME. I sense that she is either jealous of Peggy or intimidated by me who she perceives as encroaching on her dominance of the chicken run. Thinking she needs a time out/segregation from the other girls. Raising hens shouldn’t be this stressful! Any thoughts?

 

[SoulFeathers94]

Hello, I am having issues with two of my roosters. They grew up together but are attacking one another with one rooster getting more damage than the other. I would like to isolate the one with the damage, but your posts all say to separate the bully. I am at a loss because the rooster that has the most damage bully's my hens too. Who should I separate? Please help me!

 

[LaFleche]

Hello, I am having issues with two of my roosters. They grew up together but are attacking one another with one rooster getting more damage than the other. I would like to isolate the one with the damage, but your posts all say to separate the bully. I am at a loss because the rooster that has the most damage bully's my hens too. Who should I separate? Please help me!

Hi there and welcome to BYC !

How old are they and how many females do you have of what age?

Do you want to have a male at all or did you purchase them as pullets?

 

[LaFleche]

Next questions: how big are your coop and run? Do they free range?

You could post some pictures of your setup for us to get a better idea of the situation.

 

[SoulFeathers94]

I have 4 chickens, 1 Brahma hen and rooster and 1 Buff Orpington hen and Rooster. The Buff rooster is the one that attacks the hens, and my Brahma rooster attacks the Buff rooster. I got them in April this will be their first year. They are not free range, because of the coyotes, I have them in a run and I put them up at night in a coop. The run I have them in is 9 feet x 6 feet, with a cover to protect them from hawks.

 

[LaFleche]

Do you plan to add more hens soon?

But even if you did, I think you should decide which of the males you want to stay if any at all.

Your setup is way too small to have two males of the mentioned breeds with just one hen each.

They look quite young to me, so I assume that what you perceived as attacks would be the mating attempts of a hormonal cockerel.

 

[SoulFeathers94]

Would a second run and coop help? I would like to keep my birds with me if it's at all possible. What measurements would you recommend? I will try anything to help them.

 

[LaFleche]

Would a second run and coop help? I would like to keep my birds with me if it's at all possible. What measurements would you recommend? I will try anything to help them.

Indeed, a second coop and run would help, but more females would be needed as well.

Young cockerels get flushed by hormones wanting to mate all the time while same age pullets still need at least two more months to mature and be able to deal with male attention.

With only two immature females for two hormonal cockerels this could end bad for the girls as the males might start mating contests triggered by the presence of their rival.

 

[SoulFeathers94]

Indeed, a second coop and run would help, but more females would be needed as well.

Young cockerels get flushed by hormones wanting to mate all the time while same age pullets still need at least two more months to mature and be able to deal with male attention.

Got it! I will try expanding my coop and run for a second spot for my rooster. Should I separate the two roosters till I get the second area built?

 

[LaFleche]

As long as the other cockerel does not harass the pullets, you could just separate the bully for a while.