Separate the bully or the bullied?

[Exning]

How aggressive are the attacks? Pecking and lots of squawking or is blood being drawn? That was the indicator I used when rehoming Annie. She would keep going after Sophie, ripping out feathers and pecking her now-bare neck, drawing blood. Up til that point, I figured I'd let them sort it out. But it just escalated, so Annie has a new home now.

Chuck would peck Mardigan, sometimes go for the neck and make baby cuts. Dorito goes full blown on top of her and doesn't stop, draws blood and takes feathers out. Chuck is also a lot smaller, and Dorito is a lot stronger

 

[sbhkma]

Have you tried pulling Dorito out of the flock and separating her for a couple of weeks? At night too..not just in the daytime. She has to be completely separated from the others. That might be enough to settle Chuck down and allow her and Mardigan to bond a bit. It's the only thing I can think of that might help, but I've only had chickens for a little over a year so relatively new at this. And if there's any blood, put some blue kote on it so it doesn't LOOK like blood. I hope your girls get this sorted out. It's sure no fun, right?

 

[Exning]

Have you tried pulling Dorito out of the flock and separating her for a couple of weeks? At night too..not just in the daytime. She has to be completely separated from the others. That might be enough to settle Chuck down and allow her and Mardigan to bond a bit. It's the only thing I can think of that might help, but I've only had chickens for a little over a year so relatively new at this. And if there's any blood, put some blue kote on it so it doesn't LOOK like blood. I hope your girls get this sorted out. It's sure no fun, right?

Thank you for the response. We were thinking about that, but when we tried, chuck just would attack Mardigan. We're putting chuck in the chicken jail (its just wire separating the coup) until she heals and then putting Dorito. Is all this switching around going to confuse them?

 

[sbhkma]

Well, if all you're doing is putting the bully in a wire separating the coop, it's doubtful that it will help. There needs to be total separation so Dorito isn't "part of the flock" (aka.. Leader of the Pack) anymore. If Chuck is attacking Mardigan, is that a bloody, brutal attack or just a "pecking order" attack that seems far more brutal than it really is? Blood drawn? Relentless attacks on Mardigan no matter what?

How big is your coop and run? Do the attacks happen in the run as well as the coop? Do they ever free range?

 

[Exning]

Well, if all you're doing is putting the bully in a wire separating the coop, it's doubtful that it will help. There needs to be total separation so Dorito isn't "part of the flock" (aka.. Leader of the Pack) anymore. If Chuck is attacking Mardigan, is that a bloody, brutal attack or just a "pecking order" attack that seems far more brutal than it really is? Blood drawn? Relentless attacks on Mardigan no matter what?

How big is your coop and run? Do the attacks happen in the run as well as the coop? Do they ever free range?

Chuck attacking Mardigan seems like just a pecking order. Occasionally we see Mardigan with a dot of blood but its nothing serious. We kept Dorito and Mardigan together because they have no problems.
The coup is about 8 feet by 20 feet, theres a 3 feet semi enclosed roosting area and the rest is the run. We let them out for a few hrs in the morning, and since my guy has been home they are let out every few hrs (we have to be outside when they are out due to cats and chicken hawks, etc)

 

[sbhkma]

You have plenty of room for more than 3 hens, so crowding's not the issue. Ok so Dorito and Mardigan get along. When Chuck gets added to the picture, Chuck goes after Mardigan and Dorito goes after Chuck. Do I have that right? If Dorito is separated from them, does Chuck still go after Mardigan? Dorito is the more aggressive hen it appears. I'd suggest pulling her from the other 2 and see how that goes after a week or two. If Chuck and Mardigan can bond, it might help when adding Dorito back to the flock. Just a thought. You know, I never expected I'd have to work on a Master's in Chicken Psychology!!! I bet most of us never expected that

 

[Exning]

You have plenty of room for more than 3 hens, so crowding's not the issue. Ok so Dorito and Mardigan get along. When Chuck gets added to the picture, Chuck goes after Mardigan and Dorito goes after Chuck. Do I have that right? If Dorito is separated from them, does Chuck still go after Mardigan?  Dorito is the more aggressive hen it appears. I'd suggest pulling her from the other 2 and see how that goes after a week or two. If Chuck and Mardigan can bond, it might help when adding Dorito back to the flock. Just a thought. You know, I never expected I'd have to work on a Master's in Chicken Psychology!!! I bet most of us never expected that

Haha yes you got everything right! Thank you so much for the reply. We just got them a ton of fun things to do and I think were gonna switch Dorito in tomorrow. I tried explaining all this to some other non chicken people and they just dont understand the drama between chickens! Haha

 

[Fancypants1]

Having the same problem. At first it was just one polish getting her head feathers pecked. Put her in a separate hospital pen for a few days then back in with the rest. Yesterday another polish's head feathers were pecked. I found out this morning who the bully was. It's an egyptian fayomie. Do I now take the bully out from the rest of the flock? Do I put the jail near the run/coop so they can see each other or far away? Getting mixed suggestions from this thread.

 

[sbhkma]

Separation needs to be far away, so the bully is no longer part of the flock. Preferably where she can't see them and they can't see her. Good luck! I tried it with my bully and she was just as mean as ever when I brought her back to the flock.

 

[Fancypants1]

Have you tried those pinless peepers?