Hen being ganged up on

[EmmaK]

Hello, has anyone got any suggestions

I got 4 ex battery hens at the beginning of April and they settled in pretty well & seemed to get the pecking order sorted fairly quickly. The lowest in the pecking order became lame, so to ensure that she rested her leg I separated her, making sure their runs were together so that they could see each other. Once her leg was better & she was no longer lame I re-introduced her, but now she is being bullied by all the other 3 & they constantly make a bee line for her specifically it seems to have a go.

Any suggestions would be great.

Regards
Emma

[Suechooks]

Hens will always pick on a weakling - survival of the fittest etc. If one hen is more of a bully than the rest you'd be best separating her out of sight of the others for a couple of weeks and allow the lame girl to integrate with the others then re-introduce the bully. Are they actually hurting her or just keeping her in her place?
Make sure there are plenty of places for her to hide away from the others and that there are extra feeders and drinkers so she can feed without being bullied away.
You could try anti-peck spray too.

[EmmaK]

Hi Sue

They are not drawing blood but there is plenty of squawking when they have a go - there was one particular bully, but now all three are having a go. I have always made sure that there are extra feeders & drinkers available. The house & run are not huge & I move it round that garden to fresh grass every few days. I let them out into the garden when I am home which is better as she has more places to escape to.

Regards
Emma

[grenhouse]

How long have they been back together for? I have had it take a month or 2 in the past for them to start getting on.

steve

[Mikey]

How long have they been back together for? I have had it take a month or 2 in the past for them to start getting on.

steve

Wow....mine have a long way to go then. I have 1 bully the other two are younger and have made a home of a small gap down the side of the coop. The bully stands and looks at them but hasn't tried venturing into it yet. Everywhere else though she lets them know who is the boss.

[Suechooks]

Hi Sue

They are not drawing blood but there is plenty of squawking when they have a go - there was one particular bully, but now all three are having a go. I have always made sure that there are extra feeders & drinkers available. The house & run are not huge & I move it round that garden to fresh grass every few days. I let them out into the garden when I am home which is better as she has more places to escape to.

Regards
Emma

I'd definitely try some anti-peck spray then. Its worked for me in the past. Remember to spray her every day till it stops.

[Mikey]

what does the anti peck spray do?

[grenhouse]

the anti peck spray is supposed to taste horrible to chucks and smells a bit off! Basically stops them pecking one another. I introduced 2 warrens in with my 5 mixed bunch who gave them a real hard time, although i put things in the large run for them to hide behind and perches to fly up onto. No blood was ever drawn and it was the odd peck every so often. I always placed 2 lots of food and water out and put plenty of other bits in to keep the others entertained (hung cabbages from the run roof, scattered food on the floor to keep them busy all day etc. Ironic thing is now the 2 warrens are the bossiest in there!

Steve

[Suechooks]

what does the anti peck spray do?

It does what it says on the tin!