2009 Omlet cube and run for sale

[chixandthecity]

and I don't know where to begin.

 

We have had her for two years and estimate her to be between 2.5 to 3 years old. She is a very large Amber Star and is extremely dominant and aggressive. In the time we've had her, she has contributed to the untimely demise of two fellow hens who have dared to share a run/eglu with her. The only one who managed to live alongside her for any length of time has too just died. Anyway, we've replaced the recently deceased one with two new 19 week old hens and we currently have them living in a separate run to the bully. When we try to let her in with them she chases them into the corner, they're terrified of her. We've fitted a bumper bit to try avoid any feather pulling (her third in two years!), but she still seems able to grip onto the two newbies.

 

She has been a nightmare to be honest, but we've put up with her and are fond of her in a funny sort of way! However, we don't want her to see off any more hens and all I can think of is to find her a new home, ideally somewhere where she can freerange most of the time (she's okay when she has space, just doesn't like anyone on her patch).

 

Does anyone know how I should go about rehoming? I'm not trying to do it via this forum, I just don't know where else to start.

 

Thanks in advance

Chix

[Jools]

Poor you. It sounds like she needs to be in a free-range flock so she's more occupied foraging than fighting, and preferably with a cockeral to keep her in line too.

 

Are you on the Practical Poultry forum? You could post there, advertising her honestly and as FTGH. It's a lot, lot easier to re-home a laying hen than it is a surplus cockeral!

[Eggasperated]

I had to rehome one of my Black Rocks at about a year old as she was a serial feather stripper (even with a bumper bit she could strip a whole neck in about 20 mins). My local animal park took her to join their flock with a cockerel and she has fitted in there well. Are there any animal centres with hens near you? I was surprised how amenable mine were to taking my Pippa. Certainly worth a ring round.

[chixandthecity]

Thanks for your replies.

 

I'll have a look around and see if there are any local animal places with a large flock - think that would suit her best.

 

I also agree that a cockerel would put her in her place.

 

Oh, the joys of chicken keeping

[gongladosh]

the other thing you could do is keep them separate for another month or so. We had a similar problem - we had two hens, one (the top hen) died, leaving the other one lonely and from what we've guessed, angry about it all. The surviving hen went on the attack in a big way against the other two (they were about 17 weeks old).

 

What we did is have them very near each other (so they can see and smell each other) for another month or so, until the two new ones grew up a little, we then tried to reintroduce them - the results were very different.

 

They're now all the best of friends.

[Chortle Chook]

Have you thought of letting a friend have her for about a month, then re-introducing her as a newbie which would make her lower in the pecking order? Just a thought.

[chixandthecity]

Thank you all.

 

It's not a problem to keep them in separate runs for the time being. They are currently in runs next to each other (the new ones in the main run with the Eglu) and the bossy one in a makeshift effort. They free range together without too much trouble so long as the newbies don't get too close to the bully. We've also started putting the bully in the Eglu at night with the newbies, but by the time we come to open up in the morning, there's lots of chuntering going on inside! The ideal is that they all live happily in the one main run (our garden isn't really big enough to have to runs up long term - we have two children who need space to play too).

 

Unfortunately, I don't know anyone who would want to take on a lone bossy hen for a few weeks!

[sparkysmum]

Oh poor you. I know exactly what you are experiencing. We have the same situation with our lovely (in all other aspects) araucana. She was bottom of the pecking order until we introduced our sablepoots. Well you can guess the rest. She has become the queen of mean...........jumps on them,,,,,,,,,,pecks them at every opportunity. The is so horrible that last week I sold her..........but my son made me feel so bad I apologised profusely and withdrew her from sale

 

She now spends her days in the hen garden with my ex batt & faverolle whilst the banties have the run of the garden. It's not ideal as I would much prefer that they were ALL off the garden but it's a compromise. Alli xx

[coco]

I have this problen with one of my ex batts Lola. She has been living in her own little house and run inside the WIR for about a month now, sorry to say her behaviour hasn't changed a bit so I'm thinking it may be permenant. I did contemplate giving her to the local farm park that has loads of hens but then I thought she deserves to enjoy her retirement with her friends, at least she is close to them.

[Cranfield Kate]

as my flatmate says: "Bullies get eaten..."

[Jools]

Just wondering how Particularly Feisty Hen is doing one week later? Is all quiet on the York front? If not, the offer still stands.

[coco]

Ex batt Lola has been living in solitary for over a month. I let her out at the weekend and although she is still pinching the odd feather she is a much nicer hen. The bullying seems to have stopped and she is getting on with the others much better. Maybe try the longer time in solitary with your girl.