Tame Head Hen or Rehome?

[Jaceyschram]

So my head hen is sweet to me, very curious and likes being held and follows me everywhere. No fear. Definitely rules the flock with an "iron feather". About 2 months ago our rooster (who has since been re homed) became obsessed with one of the silkies and would attack it all the time. It ostracized her a little bit and made her fearful. Since re homing, the head hen has continued to bully her, trying to attack her and keep her away from some of the other birds. But weirdly not constantly, just flexes her domain every now and then almost out of what seems to be boredom, but often enough that the silkie tries to avoid her and is fearful of going near the other chickens. She now does it to another silky, the first silkies best friend. So they've kind of developed a flock of just the two of them.

Fast forward to this week, I saw a thread suggesting removing the bossy chicken for a few days to let the pecking order reestablish. I did so, and in the meantime the two silkies have made attempts to reintegrate into the flock with some adorable success. After 3 days (this morning) I let the head hen rejoin the flock and she immediately went on a bully rampage trying to attack and/or chase any in her sight (most of whom she had never treated this way, even her best friend). I figured it was some sort of tantrum or dominance behavior, but after 10 minutes of this I had to physically pick her up to make it stop and put her in the fenced run by herself.

Is that normal? The threads I read said this was a very successful way to deal with bossy chickens, but it seems to have backfired. Will she calm down and rejoin? Any advice here is great because I really like her and don't want to have to re home her, but the unfortunate truth is that the flock was much more peaceful when she was away.

 

[nuthatched]

Remove her again for longer.

 

[aart]

The threads I read said this was a very successful way to deal with bossy chickens, but it seems to have backfired. Will she calm down and rejoin?

It can be successful...but it doesn't always work.
Separating for longer is well worth trying, I'd leave her isolated for at least a week.
But keep in mind that some birds just don't fit into a flock, I've had to get rid of a few.

 

[Rose the Legbar]

I haven’t had any success with separating a hen for a week. Although my chicks had to stand up for themselves and peck back to be somewhat recognized as part of the flock. The thing that helped the chicks a ton was adding a LOT of sight line barriers in the run. Evergreen or Douglass fit branches with the needles on them still, stumps, and perches EVERYWHERE.

 

[Jaceyschram]

I haven’t had any success with separating a hen for a week. Although my chicks had to stand up for themselves and peck back to be somewhat recognized as part of the flock. The thing that helped the chicks a ton was adding a LOT of sight line barriers in the run. Evergreen or Douglass fit branches with the needles on them still, stumps, and perches EVERYWHERE.

Thank you. She seems to fit in well with the others, although i think they respect her out of fear, lol. Its the two silkies im worried about and hoping they can integrate. Maybe I'll try removing her for a few more days so the silkies can integrate better, add a ton more barriers etc in the meantime, and then try again. Thank you!

 

[aldarita]

I would try to separate your bully hen for longer (even more than a week) if possible. You have to keep in mind that the number one thing to pursue with a flock is Peace. Some times the long separation works but some times it doesn't. I have a hen that is an excellent layer and very nice with me, however at night she wrecks havoc in the roost and disturbs the peace of the old hens roosting there. It got to the point that some of the old hens started to sleep in the nesting boxes or outside in the run. I let the bully with the whole flock during the day because she is not aggressive then, however I have to put her in a coop by herself during the night. This is not exactly the same situation you have but I am trying to make my point of keeping peace in your flock for the sake of everybody, even if that means that you might have to rehome your bully after you have tried other things.

 

[Jaceyschram]

I would try to separate your bully hen for longer (even more than a week) if possible. You have to keep in mind that the number one thing to pursue with a flock is Peace. Some times the long separation works but some times it doesn't. I have a hen that is an excellent layer and very nice with me, however at night she wrecks havoc in the roost and disturbs the peace of the old hens roosting there. It got to the point that some of the old hens started to sleep in the nesting boxes or outside in the run. I let the bully with the whole flock during the day because she is not aggressive then, however I have to put her in a coop by herself during the night. This is not exactly the same situation you have but I am trying to make my point of keeping peace in your flock for the sake of everybody, even if that means that you might have to rehome your bully after you have tried other things.

This was SO helpful to read, thank you. The two silkies that get bullied never sleep in the coop I have to put them in every night. Maybe I’ll consider doing this if need be as well