Sg-chickens
In the Brooder
- Sep 9, 2022
- 20
- 23
- 49
We think we have some reordering going on in our small flock and not sure how to manage bullying behavior.
We had a flock of 3, 1 Welsummer, 1 Australorp, and 1 Bantam Cochin. They would have all been 3 years in July of this year. They were bought and raised together from 1 day old. Our bantam Cochin was a surprise, as she was was suppose to be a full sized Orpington but there was a mix up at the Tracker Supplies store where we got them and didn’t know until they were grown. About 2 weeks ago, our head hen, the Welsummer, past away from reproductive cancer, so we are now down to only 2 hens. Last week our Cochin, who has always been the lowest in the pecking order and has been bullied by our Australorp in the past, was found with a large gash on the back of her head. It’s by far the worst injury we’ve seen on any of our hens. We were able to take her to the vet and she got stitched up. She’s going to be a house chicken for at least the next 2 weeks until she is healed.
However, we are concerned about what to do now that we only have 2 hens left and how to manage the bullying behavior. Especially with it escalating since the passing of our head hen.
We are not currently in a spot to introduce more chickens to the flock. But they have a larger coop (8x8ft) and run (11x16ft) and perches for the bullied one to get out of the way through out.
Any advice or pointers would be super appreciated!
We had a flock of 3, 1 Welsummer, 1 Australorp, and 1 Bantam Cochin. They would have all been 3 years in July of this year. They were bought and raised together from 1 day old. Our bantam Cochin was a surprise, as she was was suppose to be a full sized Orpington but there was a mix up at the Tracker Supplies store where we got them and didn’t know until they were grown. About 2 weeks ago, our head hen, the Welsummer, past away from reproductive cancer, so we are now down to only 2 hens. Last week our Cochin, who has always been the lowest in the pecking order and has been bullied by our Australorp in the past, was found with a large gash on the back of her head. It’s by far the worst injury we’ve seen on any of our hens. We were able to take her to the vet and she got stitched up. She’s going to be a house chicken for at least the next 2 weeks until she is healed.
However, we are concerned about what to do now that we only have 2 hens left and how to manage the bullying behavior. Especially with it escalating since the passing of our head hen.
We are not currently in a spot to introduce more chickens to the flock. But they have a larger coop (8x8ft) and run (11x16ft) and perches for the bullied one to get out of the way through out.
Any advice or pointers would be super appreciated!
. There are times that they co-exist and then there’s other times that the Australorp is asserting her dominance. What time not sure about is whether this time had anything to do with the loss in our flock.
