Bullying Easter Egger

[Ohiah]

For context: There are 5 living in a producer's pride sentinel. One chicken (sweet Easter Egger) is a tiny little thing with pendulous crop that they don't bother. That leaves Big Easter Egger, Orpington, Australorp, Wyandotte. They have a smaller coop but almost half an acre to roam about in a fenced yard.

>> My chickens are about 23 weeks old, but one is a few weeks older (the big Easter Egger). They were all raised together in the brooder. At the end of August, the rooster was removed. Things got pretty nasty as they were resetting their pecking order... that was at the beginning of September. My orpington and australorp both sort of were scalped (just at the base of their crowns) and their crowns were a bit beaten up. I didn't know WHICH chickens and thought they were all trying to get top hen. I treated those injuries and they both healed up fine. They were all fine for the most part. Never any violent acts beyond those initial injuries. I'd watch big Easter Egger charge at the others from across the yard. They'd all puff up their neck feathers at each other. Mostly just squabbles or interest in what the other might have found. (normal behaviors, I assumed). The girls were all fine. No fighting or anything.

The big easter egger broke the tip of her beak last week. I'm not sure how that happened but I'm assuming on the hardware cloth trying to get a beetle or something. It wasn't bleeding and was just the tip. She eats and drinks fine. Hoping that will grow back but if not, it doesn't affect her eating/drinking so is ok. She is top of the pecking order, from what I can tell. She is the biggest of them all. So mostly they just got along up until yesterday.

The big Easter Egger pinned down the orpington and started ruthlessly attacking her (seemed like trying to rip her comb off..). Orpington wasn't as injured nearly as awful as she had been before. And I suspect my big EE is the culprit of the crown/scalp injuries before. This time orpington's earlobe is also hurt a bit too...like bruised but not bleeding.

I immediately removed mean EE and isolated in her own little quarantine cage. They can all still see each other. I put the isolation cage outside of the Sentinel run. I left her in there all night. The orpington wasn't being bothered by any of the others so I left her with the flock (except isolated Easter Egger). I sprayed Orpington with Vetericyn as I had before.

Today, I let the flock out of the tiny-attached run into the big yard to roam about. After a while, I thought it was ok to let big easter egger out to roam in the yard too that she'd spent the night in "chicken jail" and should be ok.... wrong. She ran out of isolation STRAIGHT for orpington (passed the other girls) and started attacking her again; trying to pin her down, biting her wing and her comb. I removed her off of orpington and put her right back into chicken jail. Orpington was scared but is ok.

Note: They are on a high protein 20 % layer feed (Kalmbach Full Plume) mixed with 18% kalmbach chick/starter crumbles. Have oyster shells & grit available all the time. so I don't think it's a nutrition issue. There are 2 hanging 18" feeders in different spots that hold 3 lbs of food each. and they have a 3 gallon waterer. So I don't really think it's "fighting over resources" either
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I don't think she is laying yet. I only have two laying so far... the orpington and one other mystery girl which I suspect is the australorp. I thought she might have been a TSC "pullet" ROO. But I asked on here and yall confirmed she's not a male.

How long do I need to leave her in cage? Should I move her out of sight of the others instead of near them? Any other advice?

 

[FrostRanger]

First, your coop is way too small for 5 birds, you want at least 4 sqft of coop space and 10 sqft of run space per bird. For your flock that'd be 20sqft of coop space and 50sqft of run space at a bare minimum, preferably more since you have issues with bullying. The lack of space is likely a big reason why you're having issues.

Once you get that sorted, I'd separate her completely (out of sight) for a week or 2 to reset her position in the pecking order. If you're still having issues you can put pinless peepers on the bully

 

[Farrari]

For context: There are 5 living in a producer's pride sentinel. One chicken (sweet Easter Egger) is a tiny little thing with pendulous crop that they don't bother. That leaves Big Easter Egger, Orpington, Australorp, Wyandotte. They have a smaller coop but almost half an acre to roam about in a fenced yard.

>> My chickens are about 23 weeks old, but one is a few weeks older (the big Easter Egger). They were all raised together in the brooder. At the end of August, the rooster was removed. Things got pretty nasty as they were resetting their pecking order... that was at the beginning of September. My orpington and australorp both sort of were scalped (just at the base of their crowns) and their crowns were a bit beaten up. I didn't know WHICH chickens and thought they were all trying to get top hen. I treated those injuries and they both healed up fine. They were all fine for the most part. Never any violent acts beyond those initial injuries. I'd watch big Easter Egger charge at the others from across the yard. They'd all puff up their neck feathers at each other. Mostly just squabbles or interest in what the other might have found. (normal behaviors, I assumed). The girls were all fine. No fighting or anything.

The big easter egger broke the tip of her beak last week. I'm not sure how that happened but I'm assuming on the hardware cloth trying to get a beetle or something. It wasn't bleeding and was just the tip. She eats and drinks fine. Hoping that will grow back but if not, it doesn't affect her eating/drinking so is ok. She is top of the pecking order, from what I can tell. She is the biggest of them all. So mostly they just got along up until yesterday.

The big Easter Egger pinned down the orpington and started ruthlessly attacking her (seemed like trying to rip her comb off..). Orpington wasn't as injured nearly as awful as she had been before. And I suspect my big EE is the culprit of the crown/scalp injuries before. This time orpington's earlobe is also hurt a bit too...like bruised but not bleeding.

I immediately removed mean EE and isolated in her own little quarantine cage. They can all still see each other. I put the isolation cage outside of the Sentinel run. I left her in there all night. The orpington wasn't being bothered by any of the others so I left her with the flock (except isolated Easter Egger). I sprayed Orpington with Vetericyn as I had before.

Today, I let the flock out of the tiny-attached run into the big yard to roam about. After a while, I thought it was ok to let big easter egger out to roam in the yard too that she'd spent the night in "chicken jail" and should be ok.... wrong. She ran out of isolation STRAIGHT for orpington (passed the other girls) and started attacking her again; trying to pin her down, biting her wing and her comb. I removed her off of orpington and put her right back into chicken jail. Orpington was scared but is ok.

Note: They are on a high protein 20 % layer feed (Kalmbach Full Plume) mixed with 18% kalmbach chick/starter crumbles. Have oyster shells & grit available all the time. so I don't think it's a nutrition issue. There are 2 hanging 18" feeders in different spots that hold 3 lbs of food each. and they have a 3 gallon waterer. So I don't really think it's "fighting over resources" either
------
I don't think she is laying yet. I only have two laying so far... the orpington and one other mystery girl which I suspect is the australorp. I thought she might have been a TSC "pullet" ROO. But I asked on here and yall confirmed she's not a male.

How long do I need to leave her in cage? Should I move her out of sight of the others instead of near them? Any other advice?

Sounds like you have a cock bird there

 

[SoCal Chicken Mama]

Hello, I have one Easter Egger in my flock of 4. She was the biggest chick (all purchased at the same time, 3 days old), at least a head taller than the rest. I wondered if she was a roo, because when they were "teenagers" she formed such strong attachments to the other girls, always sleeping by one and protecting her, then abruptly abandoning her in favor of another one (sounds like a boy!).

But in young adulthood (5 months or so), she started setting the other two (both reddish, like her) against the Buff Orpington, who is the biggest bird and bright yellow. They chased her mercilessly and even were blocking her access to food. To me they seemed to be picking on her because she was too big to fly up to the higher roosts, or the top of the Sentinal coop like you have. I put the EE in birdy jail overnight and gave the others treats she couldn't have. I also talked to her about her behavior. As expected, the other two (A Rhode Island Red and a Golden Sex Link) instantly stopped the bullying as soon as EE was in jail. All that time I still thought she might be a Roo. After one night in jail, the bullying completely stopped. I built a lower roost for Buffy, and they all taught her how to fly up to the higher places.

But now that they have started laying (at exactly 6 months), the tables have turned. The EE is now my smallest, skinniest bird. I usually get three eggs a day, and I know exactly who laid them. One is dark chocolate brown (the RIR), one is pale tan and still very small (the Buff Orpington), and one a medium brown, the Golden Sex Link. Buffy lays me an egg every day, the other two sometimes every other. One day, I got four eggs, so I figured they must all be laying, although I never see the Easter Egger hanging out by the nest boxes like the others do. There are two favorite nest boxes (out of 4). I had hoped the EE might be a blue egg layer, because she has a pea comb, and blue legs which can be signs of the blue egg gene. The 4th egg that one day was a medium pinky brown.

Then somebody started laying eggs without a shell. You see a broken egg membrane like you peel off hard boiled eggs, and a pile of egg innards on the floor. I just saw the one, but then I realized, the giant, liquidy poops that smell l really bad (like rotten eggs), are probably shell-less eggs mixed with poop. So I am really worried about her. I think she is the one laying the eggs with no shell.

They have been on layer feed since about 18 weeks old. I give them black soldier fly larvae, every morning, if they come back from the pasture chicken tractor nicely at night and don't make me chase them or crawl in after them. I recently added oyster shell and scratch grains in separate bowls, and they all go nuts for them. But no EE eggs. I tell the birds the oyster shell is for Pascha (the EE). I try to put them in the pasture run every day because it's sunnier our there, and they love grass.

But the also spend time in a big run I build outside the Sentinal. Today I am thinking about putting a few of them in the compost to let them scratch around. I am going to put a cover over it, so predators can't get to them. We have owls and hawks. Other than that we are in a residential neighborhood, so mainly neighborhood dogs who are outside the fence. Good luck with your EE, and with your egg laying adventure.