Tiny gets picked on

[jonezjollyfarm]

So I have 8 pullets/hens they are 9 months old and have been together since they were a day old. 1 leghorn 2 br 2 rir 3 EE and 1 older (age is unknown) mystery breed rooster( I think he's an EE mix probably less than 3 years old) and the rooster has been with then since August. Anyway I have noticed recently the smallest of the ee's is getting seriously bullied. They chase her away from the food and see jumps and runs if they approach her. I don't see ant signs of injury or illness. All 3 ee's have slowed down on eggs since it got real cold out. I feed them nutrena layer feed mixed with flock raiser. They get a head of lettuce about 3 days a week. Scratch in the evening and the occasional oats or peanuts. Their run is 120+ square feet. I don't want to take her out for fear they will really get her when she returns. Is there anything I can do her her?

 

[samantha LW]

I would set up a second feed station if possible where it can not be seen from the first station.

 

[azygous]

Absolutely. Second feed station as far from the main one. If that's the only thing you do, it will make a huge difference in Tiny's life.

There is a chicken in every flock that is at the bottom of the pecking order. There's almost always something different about this chicken to get the flock to focus their malevolence on them. But there's not much that can be done.

If your little victim doesn't show signs of gaining a bit more self confidence when you supply the second feed station, you can try giving her her own safe pen within the run. I did that a couple years ago with a Buff Brahma who was afraid of her own tail. At roosting time, I let her out of her enclosure to roost with the others in the coop, so she never became and outsider. After a month or so in her very own safe enclosure, she had gained an amazing amount of self confidence, and when I let her mingle with the flock again, she met their challenges with courage and confidence. It was a real personality change. It really surprised me.

 

[jonezjollyfarm]

That's a great idea. I've been trying to set food off to the side and playing bouncer while she eats but she runs to the rest of thr flock. Maybe because she thinks they will rush her if they see her eating.