Springtime grouchiness?

[Noble Rooster]

Not sure what the dealio is since nothing in their environment has changed (no new animals, no relocation, no new schedule), but one of my girls (#2 in the hierarchy) has started being gratuitously mean to our lowest-ranked girl; instead of a look, growl, or one peck to chase the lowest girl away from tasty things, etc., she leaps on her, grabs a beakful of feathers and hangs on. The head girl intervenes whenever it happens and runs #2 off (with some pecking for discipline)

, but then #2 lies in wait to bother the lowest girl again when she can, even without there being a tidbit to fight over. Everyone appears healthy and normal (though the head girl has a weird feather issue going on). #2 and the lowest girl both happen to be the ones who like to be cuddled, though I do so at different times and don't choose one over the other if they are both looking for attention. Could that be the issue? Or is this just one of those peck order realpolitik kind of things? No blood has been drawn (yet) but the lowest girl is already nervous enough and doesn't need random beatdowns!

 

[chicmom]

Sounds like hen #2 needs a time out. If you can, put her in a cage and isolate her for about a week. This sometimes helps because they lose their status after being ousted for the week.

I have to tell you though, I had a nasty bully of a hen, she was a New Hampshire Red, and I got rid of her. She was literally ripping the feathers out of EVERYBODY. Even the rooster. I watched her do it....she was not provoked. So, I gave her away to a farmer friend of mine who had alot more room.

Good luck to you!
Sharon

 

[Noble Rooster]

Quote:
Thank you, Sharon/chicmom! It would break my heart to give #2 away since she's my favorite, but I can't have this behavior either. If this keeps up she may very well be looking at chicken jail...

 

[chicmom]

Well, you are welcome! I hope she calms down for you, since you like her so much.

 

[elmo]

Are there any places in your run for the bullied chicken to hide? I built some "bully baffles" out of things I had around the yard, bamboo poles and leafy branches. It can be anything vertical you have around, even cardboard boxes, just something to provide a visual block so the bird being pestered can get out of sight. I've seen my hens chase each other before, but never very far, and out of sight seems to equal out of mind.

 

[feathersnuggles]

I recently had an even-tempered hen become much more aggressive with the rest of the flock. She started attacking them by the combs and pulling beak-fulls of feathers from their hackles. Eventually (after about a week) I discovered she was becoming broody. Sudden aggression is one of the characteristics of broodiness. Broody hens set the stage for bringing babies into the flock, and she wanted everyone to know they couldn't mess with her.

She's no longer broody now, and her aggression is also gone.

 

[Noble Rooster]

Thank you, Feathersnuggles and Elmo. I would love if she went broody -- she does like to hang out on the eggs more than the others, but as soon as word of a treat gets around she's off like a shot. Yes, there are places for a bullied bird to hide if necessary, and I've taken to dividing up any treats into more piles/dishes just so food aggression doesn't get thrown into the mix as well.

Here's hoping either she becomes broody

or she gets over it, or it's off to solitary!

 

[feathersnuggles]

Quote:
Yep, my broody started the same way... each day she was increasingly more attached to sitting on the nest, though she still laid eggs every day. She'd get off for treats, to let others lay eggs, and for free-ranging, etc. But as the days went by, I noticed her in the nest box, earlier and more frequently, until finally it became obvious that she was broody. I made a list of "broody clues" for another post. Here it is. It may help you read the signs, if your hen is becoming broody, too:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=3985698#p3985698

 

[Noble Rooster]

Quote:
Thanks, Feathersnuggles, that's a really helpful list. I did notice that she seemed to have a small bare patch on her belly when she stood up and pushed her egg out yesterday. She's still laying every day (and yelling at the girl who's on the "cool" nest before her to hurry up and get off so she can use it -- but she's always done this because she's a princess

). We shall see! Come on, broodiness!!