Young hen bullying (maybe?)

[Seed223]

We have 6 chickens in our backyard coop (we have 2 more from the same flock that had to be separated due to a raccoon injury and they haven’t been fully re-introduced yet). They are all between 11-14 weeks old (roughly). For the most part the girls have been pretty mellow around each other up until recently. When we had the raccoon attack 3 weeks ago one of our chickens died - it happened to be one that hatched with the little gal who’s being bullied now. She and Easter Egger and goes into the coop early at night before the other girls. Tonight I heard squawks coming from inside the coop. Our australorp had her pinned on the side of the roosting bar and was pecking at her head and neck. I swatted at her to stop and eventually the other hens came over and pushed her into the middle of the roosting bar, then it seemed to be calm and they started to wind down for the night. I haven’t seen feathers missing (I’ll need to look more closely tomorrow) but I have noticed that she tends to be by herself quite a bit. The two birds that are separated due to the attack are both Isa Browns and pretty calm overall. Should I bring the Easter Egger in to be with them while I’m trying to re-integrate them into the flock? We have another 8 chicks (2 weeks old) that we will be introducing in about a month or so, not sure if that will help or make things worse though. I would greatly appreciate any insight!!

 

[azygous]

Bullying, and you do have it, is complex. It has more to do with the bullying victim than the bully, the opposite of how most people think about it. I wrote this article to explain it. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/chicken-bully-chicken-victim-a-two-sided-issue.73923/

This is a very treatable issue. I have had success every time with this method. Introducing new chicks will shake things up, and it could affect the bullying, but hopefully, you'll have the issue resolved by then.

You can actually begin introducing the two-week olds to the flock now by taking them outside for field trips. It works out much better to do it when they're small and non-threatening. Here's another article on integrating chicks. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...and-start-raising-your-chicks-outdoors.71995/

 

[Seed223]

Bullying, and you do have it, is complex. It has more to do with the bullying victim than the bully, the opposite of how most people think about it. I wrote this article to explain it. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/chicken-bully-chicken-victim-a-two-sided-issue.73923/

This is a very treatable issue. I have had success every time with this method. Introducing new chicks will shake things up, and it could affect the bullying, but hopefully, you'll have the issue resolved by then.

You can actually begin introducing the two-week olds to the flock now by taking them outside for field trips. It works out much better to do it when they're small and non-threatening. Here's another article on integrating chicks. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...and-start-raising-your-chicks-outdoors.71995/

Thank you so much for the info! I will look at both of thes

Bullying, and you do have it, is complex. It has more to do with the bullying victim than the bully, the opposite of how most people think about it. I wrote this article to explain it. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/chicken-bully-chicken-victim-a-two-sided-issue.73923/

This is a very treatable issue. I have had success every time with this method. Introducing new chicks will shake things up, and it could affect the bullying, but hopefully, you'll have the issue resolved by then.

You can actually begin introducing the two-week olds to the flock now by taking them outside for field trips. It works out much better to do it when they're small and non-threatening. Here's another article on integrating chicks. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...and-start-raising-your-chicks-outdoors.71995/

Thank you so, so much azygous!! I read both articles and am thinking of ways we can do this with our coop and run. Our coop/run isn’t nearly as amazing as yours is (oh how I would love to have something just like yours!!). I’m wondering if we need to make our coop run larger. We are still in the process of building it but it’s finished enough now that the chickens are living in there happily. How would you recommend we integrate a separate space in the coop run for our victim chicken? And also do we need another separate space for the babies? We only have the one coop and I’m not sure how we could make a space inside for the babies at night but I am going to try to figure it out . I’ll take some photos in just a bit so you can see what we are working with. Thank you so much again!

 

[Seed223]

Here are some photos of our coop/run (as you can see we are still working on it and need to move the kids swing set ). Sorry the photos aren’t the prettiest!!

 

[azygous]

Being in the process of building, you've still got flexibility.

Think of the coop as the bedroom for your flock. It's where they sleep and lay eggs, and you might have a compartment for a broody nest on the floor if you think you might ever want to have a hen raise chicks from fertilized eggs.

Then think of the run as the "family room/rec room" where all social activity takes place, including eating. This is where your chickens will spend almost all their time, so make it as roomy as you can and interesting, as well. Don't be afraid to depart from the simple rectangle configuration.

Making a run a complex shape with "wings" jutting out here and there will provide the chickens with areas to hang out in when there are conflicts. A wing here or there can be the "jail" for treating bully victims or having a space for a recovering sick or injured chicken, and it can also be used as the safe room for chicks.

Covering the run with a solid roof will also make you extremely happy you did as weather dumps rain or snow that you will then be able to just thumb your nose at. And it makes it even safer from predators.

 

[Seed223]

Thank you! We are working on something now to set up a temporary space in there and will work on our redesign to extend the run further. After looking at your pictures and reading your feedback I’m contemplating making another “wing” that’s got 3 walls on it - kind of like an open middle run (which is there now) and then another outdoor living space on the other side, maybe twice the size of the coop. I think you are so right about a roof over the run too - the rain has been terrible lately and I’m having to throw so much food away because it keeps getting soaked! Hopefully my husband doesn’t have a stroke when I tell him I want to build an even bigger area for them . Poor guy, we’ve been working on this coop and run for close to a month now! Thank you again for your input, it is super helpful!

 

[azygous]

Do you ever plan on letting your flock out of the run to free range? One mistake I made with my run was not to include entrances to it for the chickens on all sides.

I learned, soon after finishing my new run, that chickens go into a blind panic trying to get back into the run if they spot a predator bearing down on them. In this case it was a hawk attack, and there was no run entrance on the side where it occurred. The result was several chickens that flung themselves at the side of the run literally trying to go through it. One pullet incurred a painful foot injury and there are scratches on the glass door wind breaks to this day from their mad clawing to get in.

Luckily, there were no casualties other than the foot injury, but I thought it fortunate I was there when it happened, so I immediately set to putting in a pop hole on that side.

This is something we old timers can share with you newbies - ways we may have failed to make our chickens safe . Make as many entrances as your chickens' safety and survival requires. Don't skimp.

The same goes for any chick access to the various wings of your completed run. They will panic as well if they are trying to run from a big bully and can't immediately find an escape. Chicks can be killed if they are cornered with no means of escape and can be perfectly safe with adults if they can evade them with well placed chick pop holes that allow them to go right through any barrier.

 

[Seed223]

Do you ever plan on letting your flock out of the run to free range? One mistake I made with my run was not to include entrances to it for the chickens on all sides.

I learned, soon after finishing my new run, that chickens go into a blind panic trying to get back into the run if they spot a predator bearing down on them. In this case it was a hawk attack, and there was no run entrance on the side where it occurred. The result was several chickens that flung themselves at the side of the run literally trying to go through it. One pullet incurred a painful foot injury and there are scratches on the glass door wind breaks to this day from their mad clawing to get in.

Luckily, there were no casualties other than the foot injury, but I thought it fortunate I was there when it happened, so I immediately set to putting in a pop hole on that side.

This is something we old timers can share with you newbies - ways we may have failed to make our chickens safe . Make as many entrances as your chickens' safety and survival requires. Don't skimp.

The same goes for any chick access to the various wings of your completed run. They will panic as well if they are trying to run from a big bully and can't immediately find an escape. Chicks can be killed if they are cornered with no means of escape and can be perfectly safe with adults if they can evade them with well placed chick pop holes that allow them to go right through any barrier.

I would have never thought of that, thank you!! I’m assuming the doors for them need to be able to be locked behind them so the predator isn’t able to get inside the run too? We had a fox attack last night but no one was injured since our dogs and my husband scared it away.... I’m amazed at the amount of predators inside the city! We had a raccoon attack a few weeks back too - my daughter forgot to lock the coop which is what led to that one .

We built a temporary “coop” for the inside of the chicken run and are hoping to re-integrate our two other birds back into the flock along with using it for the babies too! We are also making plans for a large coop/run addition along with a separate fully secured coop for the future when we need to separate someone for a little while. You have been so incredibly helpful!!

Also happy to report that we haven’t had any further bullying. While we were making the box for the coop we put in 2x4s for their roosting bars and added an additional one. They are all so much happier now!!

 

[azygous]

Of course, all pop holes get latched after the chickens are finished free ranging and at night. I suppose if a four legged predator was after them, it could follow them back into the run through open pop holes, but that's a risk.

I've been around to shut the pop holes when the flock is alerted to a predator. We don't see what they can see, their eye sight being a lot more acute. I also have clicker trained my flock and if I know a predator is lurking, I can get them back into the run in about ten seconds just my clicking them in. You might consider training yours to come when signaled.