- Mar 2, 2015
- 20
- 9
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My 4 year old black Australorp, Polly, has suddenly turned really nasty. Her whole behavior is off. She is clucking constantly where she has generally been quite a quiet girl. She is frequently fluffing every feather on her body to stand on end, like hackles on a dog - see attached pic. It's not very clear but it might help.
She does this when we come close but also just walking around. Most concerning is that she is attacking our two Buff Orpingtons, drawing blood and even pecking off tips of their combs. I had noticed the comb pecking from black spots on the combs previously. Then I noticed one of the girls had a peak of her comb missing. Then I saw Polly violently attack the other, holding on to the comb and drawing blood before I could separate them.
Things have changed in the hen house. We lost our Omega end of Dec when an egg broke inside of her. Then we lost our Alpha. She just didn't come home one day so we think a coyote got her. About 3 weeks ago we lost our oldest girl who had taken over as Alpha when she got sick and died while we were out of the country. This put Polly at the top of the pecking order. She is 4, the other 2 are 18 months old.
I thought Polly was maybe getting broody as she spent all day yesterday on the nest before the attack situation but she was out and about all day today so I am doubting that theory now. We separated her immediately after the attack and put her in the "hospital" coop by herself in the barn. She continued to cluck and fluff up and even tried attacking my husband's ankle. Then she settled and just sat down as though nesting. She is eating and drinking well. We let her out with the other girls today. They roamed the alpaca fields without too much ado but the younger girls were clearly very wary and Polly was seen stalking them a time or two. The wide open space kept things peaceful though. Their coop has served well for 4 years with 5 to 6 full grown chickens in it so it seems to be adequate for just 3.
Any ideas what this is all about? Are chickens subject to PTSD with so much change in the flock? Is there something I can be doing to help her?
She does this when we come close but also just walking around. Most concerning is that she is attacking our two Buff Orpingtons, drawing blood and even pecking off tips of their combs. I had noticed the comb pecking from black spots on the combs previously. Then I noticed one of the girls had a peak of her comb missing. Then I saw Polly violently attack the other, holding on to the comb and drawing blood before I could separate them.
Things have changed in the hen house. We lost our Omega end of Dec when an egg broke inside of her. Then we lost our Alpha. She just didn't come home one day so we think a coyote got her. About 3 weeks ago we lost our oldest girl who had taken over as Alpha when she got sick and died while we were out of the country. This put Polly at the top of the pecking order. She is 4, the other 2 are 18 months old.
I thought Polly was maybe getting broody as she spent all day yesterday on the nest before the attack situation but she was out and about all day today so I am doubting that theory now. We separated her immediately after the attack and put her in the "hospital" coop by herself in the barn. She continued to cluck and fluff up and even tried attacking my husband's ankle. Then she settled and just sat down as though nesting. She is eating and drinking well. We let her out with the other girls today. They roamed the alpaca fields without too much ado but the younger girls were clearly very wary and Polly was seen stalking them a time or two. The wide open space kept things peaceful though. Their coop has served well for 4 years with 5 to 6 full grown chickens in it so it seems to be adequate for just 3.
Any ideas what this is all about? Are chickens subject to PTSD with so much change in the flock? Is there something I can be doing to help her?
