Advice on separating birds

[heatherlg95]

I was wondering if someone could give me some advice on separating out a chicken that seems resistant to any attempts to stop her pecking.

My two main questions are: is it ok for a single hen to be on her own but within sight of others (and free ranging with them occasionally)? Will she get too cold in a coop on her own this winter?

The details:
To cut a long story short, I have four girls that have been together for over a year and who seemed to be behaving themselves nicely until this summer when feathers started disappearing. It took a while to identify the culprit and since then I've been unable to stop Henri (a goldline) from bullying two of the others. Ironically, she is the smallest by far but is pretty vicious! I have tried anti-pecking sprays, more free ranging, items to play with in the run and isolation for Henri but whenever they are back in the covered run she starts again. I finally took her out completely when the others started moulting as I thought the temptation would be too much. I have the space to accommodate her on her own.

Essentially, I am too attached to her to give her away (at the moment - I'm a huge softie) and want to make sure she is as comfortable as possible if she has to be on her own. I did consider getting two new hens to join her but am worried that she would bully them as well.

Any advice would be gratefully received (I've only just registered for this forum but it's been so helpful over the past year as I'm a beginner at keeping chickens!)

[KarenE]

Hi Heather

Welcome to the Lane! Glad you've joined us to post

As to your little naughty girl - keeping her on her own isn't ideal to be honest but i understand there may be little choice and I think you're wise to be cautious about getting her some company until you've got to the bottom of this feather habit. I think she'd probably not be too cold - she's more likely to get lonely. How does she seem being on her own?

Couple of questions:

- is she pulling feathers and eating them? Or just pulling them?
- is she bullying in any other way ie pecking, chasing etc? is she top hen?
- is she the only one doing this for sure?
- have you had a quick check to see if there are any other problems like lice or mites?

There could be a few reasons for feather plucking. She may be short on protein - if she's eating the feathers then this would point to that.

[heatherlg95]

Hi Karen,

Thanks for your reply! It's good to have some reassurance.

Henri seems ok with being on her own - more interested in getting out into the garden than being with the others. When they are all out together, she'll be ok for a while but then will suddenly go for one of the others (a large Cambridge Blue in particular) in what seems to be full attack mode with wings out and feet/claws forward. This will always end with the larger bird running away. In addition to that she will chase the others quite aggressively so now they are only all together under supervision. I think she was top hen and she is slightly older than the two she picks on and came into lay sooner.

As for the pecking, she was the instigator and only seemed to infrequently eat the feathers (I also fed them plenty of meal worms for a protein boost as well which made no difference). I did notice one of the others copying a little but this has stopped since removing Henri and all feathers are gradually growing back. All four girls are clear of nasties (touch wood) and I check them regularly.

It's interesting though that Henri is the only hen to have actively pecked at me - hair, buttons, fingers etc - so she could just be an angry lady...!

[KarenE]

Oh dear, it does sound like you've got a hormonal stroppy lady with small dog syndrome

Unless she's drawing blood or being particularly vicious, it may be best to leave them to it when they are free ranging. Maybe something's happened to upset the pecking order and she's reasserting her authority. if you feel things are getting out of hand, a water pistol does work wonders and they soon get the message.

Unfortunately feather plucking can be a hard habit to break - I haven't had it yet (touch wood) so maybe others might have better advice. Definitely keep her apart until the others are feathered up, don't want her pulling their quills out.

It may be that ultimately the best environment for her could be a bigger flock where she's put in her place by a top hen or cockeral but if she seems happy enough on her own and you've got the space (and you don't want to rehome her) then why not give it a go. She may be such a contrary girl that she prefers to be alone (rename her to greta garbo!)

Good luck with the madam, do let us know how she gets on and I hope someone else pops along with some more advice for you!

[jackian]

Hi there and welcome,

I have no advice to add except that I do agree with Karen.
I would separate her if you can you have nothing to lose.If she is OK on her own.It will certainly bring her down a peg or two.
A friend of mine had two chickens that were bullying her others and left her others feather less. I adopted one of the bullied girls who settled down well with my girls .We had her in April and it has taken her till now to get her feathers back..and now she is moulting
The two bullies in the end were rehomed on a farm and are doing fine and all her others are now doing really well. The reason hers were bullying we think is that they just needed more space and she was unable to separate them or let them FR but as you can do that I would give it ago ... nothing to lose I reckon.
Good luck and keep in touch and let us know how you get on or need more advice .

Jackie x

[manda]

It does sound like you have a stroppy madam rather than a hen who's short of something nutrition wise..... if you have time is let them free range and arm yourself with the water pistol ...and if that doesn't work if she doesn't stop at that pick her up (if you can get hold of her) and carry her around for a while....
Yes you can separate her off but it would be better for her to be with others when hens by nature are usually flock animals (maybe...although she could be an exception and really is the Greta Garbo of the hen fraternity )

I will be interested to see how you get on with this madam ..she sounds a challenge.

[Bob B]

Good morning Heather
I have had the same problem with one of my Hens also feather pecking mainly around the Vent and underneath.
The way I stopped this was to use Vic vapour rub over the bald area, a good covering seems to have done the trick,stood back and watched, on the fist pecking attack the offending Hen did not like the taste and after a lot of beak rubbing on the ground to get rid of the Vic she has not been back for another go.
Give it a go, I also tried anti peck spray but did not seem to work either.
Good luck
Bob B

[heatherlg95]

Thank you so much for all of your advice! It's really appreciated especially as I'm only one year into chicken keeping. Karen, I love the new name suggestion!

I think I will keep her separate for the winter but allow joint free ranging whilst armed with a water pistol. The coop is next to the house so is not too exposed and I can always pop her into the garage if temperatures drop too much. Maybe then I can try a reintroduction in the spring when everyone is fully feathered and happier.

As I said in my first post, I just want to make sure that they are all happy and healthy and, judging on the egg laying, the current situation suits them.

[chickgirl]

Hello, pleased to meet you!

I've have a bad tempered chicken. She is a Bluebelle, 'Busty Bell' I call her!

We originally had four girls living in harmony until a dog got in and killed one of my beautiful girls. Now down to three I decided to get two more and the trouble began.

Bell really started going for the new ones but after a while she focused on pecking and mounting the youngest. I wish I had put them in a separate pen when we first got them so they could see each other but no contact for a while........never mind!!

Anyway, I have tried it all but ending in failure, even separating the bully but as she could still see her victim it just made it worse when reintroduced. Only when the bully could not see or hear the others for a few weeks did I notice slight progress.

You may be amused by what really helped.....when we went on holiday in April we put all of them in a local 'chicken hotel' for a week. I think because it was a complete change in a different setup everything was calmer when they came home, the difference was noticeable. Ok, we still have a few pecks at feeding times, and the youngest is always the last to be allowed to go to bed, but now our little one is growing her feathers back and is not looking as bald.

I feel a trip to the Hotel does them good and will be booking them in again next year!

Why do they get all the fun



Like you I couldn't give up on any of my girls, glad I didn't.

[KarenE]

Chickgirl, that is just hilarious!

Probably it was the long days spent by the pool, sipping pina coladas that helped them to bond

I don't think anyone on the lane has ever recommended sending them on holiday together but it's a brilliant idea! Plus it's really stress free for us owners if we can get intros done while they're on holiday