Re: Bullying in the Coop

Jewels wrote:
Hi all,

I've got 8 chickens which I got when they were around 14 weeks old,
they are now about 24 weeks old and over the last 4-5 days I have
noticed that one of them is being really badly bullied by several of
the others. I know someone has to be bottom of the pecking order but
this poor hen spends most of her time up in the chicken house to save
herself from being bullied.

My kids just noticed today that this hen has all blood on the side of
her neck and the others seemed to be getting even more vicious with
her. I've removed her from the others and am currently letting her
free range my garden whilst the others are in the pen. The only
thing I have for isolation is a large cage that I could put her in
for a few days for her to heal but will I be faced with the same
problem when i introduce her back in? I don't know what to do for
this poor thing.

Any ideas/comments.


Hi Jewel and welcome.

First -- well done for getting her out of there. She will need a lot longer
than a few days to heal and must be kept separate until she does. Chickens
can be cute but they are also evil little [expletive of choice deleted] to
each other under stress. They WILL cannabilise.

Can I ask a few questions which might help us help you and them?

What breed are they?
Whereabouts in the world are you?
What is your local climate like?
What size is the area they have access to?
What is their daily routine?
What are they being fed on?

Thats a start.
There are a number of standard reasons for this but I would not presume
without hearing from you about their situation.


--

regards
Jill Bowis

Pure bred utility chickens and ducks
Housing; Equipment, Books, Videos, Gifts
Herbaceous; Herb and Alpine nursery
Working Holidays in Scotland
http://www.kintaline.co.uk


.

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