Bully Hen

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Here’s the coop for reference. You can see the other girls in the run. I have the mean bird separated in the coop for a minute till I get a pen for her. Once I separate her, do I attempt to reintroduce her one the other hen is healed? Or do I just try and rehome her?
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I would try the separation for a few weeks than see how it goes when you let her out. There are no pick sprays you can use. I've always used bluekote. It helps to put them down while it's still wet because apparently it tastes terribly. Some people use the pinless peepers on bully hens. Once she's bigger you can try those too. As far as keeping her or finding her a new home, I'd personally keep her and try to work through the issues, or put her in the freezer if she doesn't improve.

 

[ChookaPete]

I had a bully like that. I tried separating her from the victim chook in a separate yard for over a week, but that didn't work.

What did work was that I managed to catch the bully in the act of bullying the victim. I disciplined her on the spot, and squirted her with the hose. She ran off sulking!

After that she settled down and at present, I have no bully or victim but two chookies that happily forage and sit together .

 

[16 and me]

Here's a great article by Azygous on isolating the victim bird within the flock so she gains confidence. It is particularly effective when you have a hen that seems overly skittish. I have used this method and it works!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/chicken-bully-chicken-victim-a-two-sided-issue.73923/

 

[ChookaPete]

Here's a great article by Azygous on isolating the victim bird within the flock so she gains confidence. It is particularly effective when you have a hen that seems overly skittish. I have used this method and it works!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/chicken-bully-chicken-victim-a-two-sided-issue.73923/

Thank you for this.

Last year when one of my chooks went broody, then raised a chick, I had them both in a separate coop and run that I nicknamed 'The Nursery'. Unfortunately after a month they nursery got damaged by wind, allowing the chick to get out (with Mama after her). Then of course the other chooks got INTO the nursery!

I was going to pull down that coop, but as it now has a sentimental value to me, I am thinking to restore the run with firmer fencing to make it a permanent nursery for broody chooks and raising chicks, as well as a safe place for recovering victims. I now have herbs growing in there such as sage, thyme, and also lavender. There is even a grapevine now growing above it.

It's just that I am not sure whether to keep calling it The Nursery, or change it to "The Broody Bay"!?



Or maybe I should have another section made into a small coop and run for bully chooks and call that "The Bully Bay"!?

 

[Gezellige_Poes]

I have a bully. I watched her several times following and chasing my most docile hen. I picked up the victim hen and noticed her back had been picked! I’ve got her cleaned up and put some wound care on it and I have them separated right now. I just don’t know how to get the behavior to stop. She’s the only hen getting picked on, and there is only one clear aggressor. They are all about 8 weeks old, and we’re hatched and raised together. Photo of her back. Also a photo of my little flock. The blue arrow is the one getting picked on (she’s laying down and hard to see) the red arrow is the bully (she’s always running away and is the most skittish of them all)

I haven't read all the entries here, tons of bully posts lately... You could try pinless peepers on the offender. I have had great success with this. In multiple situations, the offender(s) only had to wear them a short while and issues were resolved. Good luck!