Top hen bullying and causing injury to one of our younger girls

[georgiashens]

Hi everyone,

Last summer, we got 2 chicks. They both integrated into the flock well after months of careful introductions. There was some bullying but mainly just pecks and chasing, it never escalated into any injuries. Over time, our top hen has focused on bullying just one and is constantly pecking and chasing her around. Her back feathers are completely messed up due to the constant pulling at them and today, I noticed her ear was injured then when I put her to bed, maple launched at Holly and injured her wattles infront of me.

For some context, they are a flock of 4 and mainly stay in their 200sqft run with 1-3 hours of monitored free range time in the garden per day. They recently had one of their flock members pass away unexpectedly but the bullying was there before this. They are fed Allen and page layers crumble with a few treats here and there. They are all laying very healthy eggs most days and seem really happy apart from this.

Although the injuries are small now, I’m really worried that she’s going to escalate even more and cause more severe injuries or even kill her. I’m not sure what to do about this. Has anyone experienced this and/or have any advice on how to solve this?

Thank you!!

 

[Eggcessive]

Sometimes increasing the protein in the feed to 20% or separating the bully for a week will help with pecking. Some people use pinless peepers on the bully so that she take aim and peck or pull feathers. They can eat and drink normally. Here is some reading about them:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/pros-and-cons-of-pinless-peepers.1629317/

I once had a few wyandottes who had been raised with my more mild mannered breeds. They were bullies although very pretty, but I rehomed them to a friend who enjoyed their eggs.