loohoo
Songster
We have 3 hens that will be 4 years old in the spring. They are the OGs, and there has been peace and harmony in the flock for years. The top hen is fair and isn’t a bully, except if the hen on the bottom of the pecking order is injured (she hurt her leg jumping off the water bucket one summer, and the top hen was merciless).
A few months ago, a random BR pullet showed up at our house, trying to get into the run. We have no idea where she came from, but she was healthy and in good condition. After quarantining her, we slowly integrated her in with the others by keeping her in a dog crate in their run for weeks. When it came to fully integrating her, the top hen accepted her just fine - just a few pecks here or there, absolutely no bullying behavior. The problem is with the hen at the bottom of the pecking order - she is a straight up bully to the newcomer. It’s been a while now, and thought time would fix it but it just hasn’t. The new girl had taken to hanging out on the roof of the coop (which is fully enclosed inside the run), all day and not going in the coop at night. The bully would keep her from going in.
We put pinless peepers on the bully 3 days ago, and the quality of the life of the new girl has drastically improved. She spends all her time in the run, gets along great with the other 2 hens. She doesn’t get on the roof, and actually went into the coop to roost last night for the first time ever, without me putting her in!
The problem is the hen at the bottom of the pecking order, with the peepers will not eat or drink. She seems depressed and sits in the coop all day - she won’t get up on the roost at night, she lays in the bedding. I’ve picked her up and brought her out of the coop where the food and water are, hoping if she was out there that she would eat, but no. She acts weird, makes weird frantic noises that attract the attention of the top hen, who has now started bullying her (because she acts “off”). I put a small container of food/water next to her inside the coop hoping to entice her but so far, it’s a no go. It’s really, really cold here right now and the way the coop is built, I can’t fit a dog crate in there to keep her separate for a while, I’d have to put it in the run. We’re just going through a really cold snap right now, and it makes me feel better to have them in the coop at night. Everything I read about the peepers said it took just a short while for the chicken to get used to the peepers and then they acted totally normal. It’s been 3 days and she doesn’t even seem to be trying to adjust whatsoever. She just seems like she’s shut down. What do I do?
I expected bullying from the top girl, never did I dream it would be from the one at the bottom of the pecking order!
A few months ago, a random BR pullet showed up at our house, trying to get into the run. We have no idea where she came from, but she was healthy and in good condition. After quarantining her, we slowly integrated her in with the others by keeping her in a dog crate in their run for weeks. When it came to fully integrating her, the top hen accepted her just fine - just a few pecks here or there, absolutely no bullying behavior. The problem is with the hen at the bottom of the pecking order - she is a straight up bully to the newcomer. It’s been a while now, and thought time would fix it but it just hasn’t. The new girl had taken to hanging out on the roof of the coop (which is fully enclosed inside the run), all day and not going in the coop at night. The bully would keep her from going in.
We put pinless peepers on the bully 3 days ago, and the quality of the life of the new girl has drastically improved. She spends all her time in the run, gets along great with the other 2 hens. She doesn’t get on the roof, and actually went into the coop to roost last night for the first time ever, without me putting her in!
The problem is the hen at the bottom of the pecking order, with the peepers will not eat or drink. She seems depressed and sits in the coop all day - she won’t get up on the roost at night, she lays in the bedding. I’ve picked her up and brought her out of the coop where the food and water are, hoping if she was out there that she would eat, but no. She acts weird, makes weird frantic noises that attract the attention of the top hen, who has now started bullying her (because she acts “off”). I put a small container of food/water next to her inside the coop hoping to entice her but so far, it’s a no go. It’s really, really cold here right now and the way the coop is built, I can’t fit a dog crate in there to keep her separate for a while, I’d have to put it in the run. We’re just going through a really cold snap right now, and it makes me feel better to have them in the coop at night. Everything I read about the peepers said it took just a short while for the chicken to get used to the peepers and then they acted totally normal. It’s been 3 days and she doesn’t even seem to be trying to adjust whatsoever. She just seems like she’s shut down. What do I do?
I expected bullying from the top girl, never did I dream it would be from the one at the bottom of the pecking order!