MedusA Posted September 9, 2007 Share Posted September 9, 2007 We got 2 new chickens to join our surviving Gingernut Ranger, Scully. She seems OK with Treacle (Suffolk Noir), but she's bullying Toffee (Suffolk Blacktail) unmercilessly - to the point of drawing blood on top of her head. Any suggestions as how to stop/minimise this will be gratefully received. I know that they need to sort out their pecking order, but I'm worried Toffee will get pecked to death at this rate. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foreveryoung Posted September 9, 2007 Share Posted September 9, 2007 a bumper bit or something to make her feathers tast nasty? sorry im not to sure! good luck xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted September 9, 2007 Share Posted September 9, 2007 You may be best to seperate them for short periods of time, until the worst of her temper is over with. I divided the eglu run with garden canes if they started getting too aggressive. Only needed it for a few days. They were still bossy, but the really aggressive attacks get much less. They don't seem to like tea tree oil if you have any. It's good for wounds anyway, so that might help. Hope it settles down soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted September 9, 2007 Share Posted September 9, 2007 i agree with snowy, try and seperate them if you can, we are just going through an introduction with ella our big hen. We are calling her Cruel-ella at the moment as she is being very mean to her new friends. We are keeping them seperate at bedtimes and in the run, but they all free range together without any problems. I would keep the introduction slow and gradual, they will get used to each other in time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted September 9, 2007 Share Posted September 9, 2007 Maybe give them more food and water stations, often bullying takes place over food etc. The top hen won't be able to "man" 3 posts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedusA Posted September 10, 2007 Author Share Posted September 10, 2007 Thank you for the tips and advice. They seem to be OK at night when snuggling in the eglu. It's just during the day, if I'm not there to keep an eye of them in the bigger run and I have to shut them in to the eglu run for safety (one fox death is enough, thank you). I'll try the canes idea and the tea tree oil seems like a brilliant plan! Many thanks once again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
