JoJo82 Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Hi all, We rehomed 6 ex-bats last year, all got on well and we love them to bits. About 5 weeks ago we got 4 chickens who we are looking after indefinitely for a friend. There was a little bit of fighting at first but we were surprised at how well they all settled in together. Then this weekend Peggity started getting picked on. She wasn't at the bottom of the pecking order (as far as I can tell) and they have been fine together for over a month so I don't understand. Anyway 2 of the new chickens were standing on her neck so she couldn't move and pecking her head, and another 2 were joining in as well. I don't think this was normal bullying, they were being really really horrible and I really thought they would kill her. I brought her inside and she stayed there for the whole day and night and seemed quite happy inside and was eating loads. We made a separate run outside and have put her in this as we read it wasn't good for her to be completely separate for too long. We want to feed her up then reintegrate her, and maybe separate the worst bullies instead. But the one new chicken is still bullying her inside the run, and she isn't eating very well and just seems so unhappy. She is still staying in the house at night because we don't currently have a way to separate her in their henhouse and the run isn't fox-proof, but we have been letting her into the garden as soon as we get up for a while before we let the others out, and she stays on the top step of the garden and doesn't move. Unless you are in the garden with her and then she will happily run around and do normal chicken-y things. It makes me want to cry because she never used to like being picked up and wasn't that confident around us, but I just think she must be so scared and only feels confident when we are around to protect her, and I know this isn't good. I don't know if it makes things worse that the new ones haven't had their beaks trimmed whereas the ex-bats obviously have. It means that the new ones do so much more damage and quite easily draw blood. What should we do? I want to get the beaks of the new ones trimmed so they cause less damage, but this is difficult when really they are not our chickens. Also any advice to get Peggity eating more? I have tried feeding her favourites but she only picks at them when the other chooks are around. Also the others all gather round her pen trying to get to her food and this might intimidate her. Could I remove her for say half an hour a couple of times a day and feed her as much as she will eat in this space of time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercedes55 Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 I've only been keeping hens for a year, so not very experienced, so sure someone else will come along with more advice. We had to separate our hens as suddenly one of our ex batts started plucking the feathers out of our pure breeds. Like yours they had been fine together prior to this and I have no idea what happens to make one hen turn into a bully, although I have to say our pure breeds were quite 'happy' to stand there and let the ex batt pick their feathers out, so there was no actual blood being drawn or anything really nasty. Is it possible to separate the ex batts from the hens you are looking after and just keep them as two separate flocks? This is what we now do and touch wood it's worked out fine as the feather plucker is now bottom of the pecking order and seems fine. I'm not sure that beak trimming is the answer to be honest. The ex batt we were having problems with has her beak trimmed, yet it didn't stop her Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Sorry to hear about the difficulties you're having, it's horrible to watch isn't it ? I also don't think beak trimming is necessary. You may find that it takes some time for them to accept each other and in the meantime, you'll have to separate them somehow. What is your setup? We may be able to suggest a way of doing it. Have you tried anti-peck spray or squirting the culprit with a water pistol when she attacks? The latter is only an option when you're around, obviously. Separating the bully may be an option too. If Peggity is accepted by all the others, put the bully in the separate run and see how that goes. Good luck and keep us posted . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoJo82 Posted July 12, 2011 Author Share Posted July 12, 2011 Thanks so much for replying. It is horrible to watch. I am glad you think beak trimming isn't necessary, and it is true that whilst less damage can be done it solve the real problem. At the moment all chickens have free run of the garden, and access to our brick-built shed which is 12ftx8ft and open straight out into the garden. There is food and water inside and outside. Mercedes - how did you go about separating them? I don't know exactly who the main culprit is. The first time it seemed to be two of them picking on her and it was difficult to tell which was worst. However one of those still seems to be bullying her now she is separate. When I saw her being attacked the second time there were 4 of them all having a go at her so I am worried that just separating the one or two of them won't be enough. Especially because earlier today I tried to put all 9 others in their shed while I let Peggity run about, but Gertie (not a bully) was proving difficult to get in so I let them be together and whilst there was no problem with bullying, Gertie ate all the food and Peggity refused to eat anything so I worry that she will carry on doing this even without the bullies around. We are trying to get her to eat as much as possible, she ate about 1/4 of a pouch of cat food and a bit of bread earlier but it's not very much compared to her usual appetite. We will get some anti-pecking spray as soon as possible. Thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daisyhettieamber Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 I rehomed 3 chickens last October and they lived happily in the cube I had bought... The White Sussex was still teaching the barnvelder that she had hatched how to dust bath etc and the speckledy appeared to be in charge... This April the Sussex went broody and I sat her on 11 eggs... 4 of which she hatched and has raised them well (separated from the other 2) in a guinea pig eglu classic... However she has started attacking her young and I returned her to the other 2 as the speckledy had somehow gotten into the chicks enclosure and preceeded to try and mate with the Sussex... Prompting her to start laying again... The only problem is the barnvelder is bullying her relentlessly... Sitting on her and pecking at her head... And the Sussex just sits there waiting for it to happen... The speckledy and the Sussex seem to get on fine... In fact the Sussex sometimes hides behind her friend... So after reading all the stories and suggestions I think I shall try separating the bully... She won't much like the rabbit hutch after the comforts of the cube! Lol However if one of the 4 chicks turned out to be a cockerel and I had the bottle to try and keep it... Would the addition of a cockerel calm the flock down? Or will he just do the deed, have his fun and sit back and watch the girls bicker? I'm not sure the neighbours would put up with a cockerel but I might give it a go! Lol Big hugs to you, and I hope your girls calm down and make friends really soon... They sound like they have a lovely home and you are doing a fantastic job with the care your giving to the victimized little un... I have heard that the rest of the flock will pick on an ill hen so perhaps some worming treatment and some tonic would boost her up a bit... It's a real worry at times... I've left the cube door open tonight so that the Sussex can escape the cube if needs be into the run, my friends would think me insane pampering my girls, but I fully understand what your going through.. Xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercedes55 Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 We separated ours by bringing the Eglu out of the garage and dividing the WIR, so we now have the Cube one end and the Eglu at the other. Long term however I'm not sure what to do as once the pure breeds have grown their feathers back, which is happening very slowly, I want to try and reintroduce the ex batts. However I'm not sure how the bully is going to handle that, so my plan at the moment is to leave her on her own in the Eglu at first, to make sure the other ex batts are okay with the pure breeds and then put the bully in once the others are all settled and hope that she is then bottom of the pecking order. If she isn't and she starts pulling their feathers out again I may have to rehome her, although my other half has said I can't. Trouble is I would like to get some more hens and I need my Eglu for that. Whoever said keeping hens was easy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracker57 Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Hi All, We're in a similar - ish psoition. We only have 2 chickies, a Silkie and a Wyandotte. They seemed happy enough, until our Silkie (the dominant one) went broody, which has lasted about 2 months. Anyway during this time and for the last week, she is pecking on the Wyandotte, she has lost alot of feathers and seems skinnier. We thought it was maybe becasue its summer, but she is always seems stressed and so cautious around the Silkie. We've only got an Eglu and no room to separate, so a bit stuck really. When we're in we tell her off if we see her doing it, but Im getting really worried now, the Wyandotte just seems so stressed and skinny. Ideas if poss would be great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoJo82 Posted July 19, 2011 Author Share Posted July 19, 2011 Unfortunately Peggity died last night. After we separated her she seemed much better than after a couple of days she started shaking her head and her comb was really pale. We checked and checked again for bugs and eventually found a tiny tiny patch on her back which looked black and like there might have been mites there at some point. In their house we cleaned everything thoroughly and found some mites there, so we used mite powder in there. So now I am thinking she may have had a mild case of mites and that's why she was attacked in the first place. She seemed to be doing ok. She was eating bits and pieces but yesterday we came home and she was like a completely different chicken. She was very listless, couldn't stand and had her eyes closed and she died a few hours later. I feel bad for not checking for mites earlier, but then the first sign of any problems was only just over a week ago. So maybe if one of your chickens suddenly starts being picked on you should check her really carefully for any signs of infection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercedes55 Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 So sorry to hear about your girl, I don't really know much about mites and it's never occurred to me to look for them. I do put a lot of Diatom in the Cube and Eglu and thought that dealt with any possible mites. Need to read up on them I guess. Once again sorry to hear about your little girl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
