extreme bullying/cold weather

[Ziggy1973]

Sorry if this has been asked before but I wasn't quite sure where to look for something this specific. I have 15 hens, 8 of which are from my original five-year-old flock. One hen, Gertrude, has always been at the bottom of the pecking order but in recent months has been tormented by all the other gals. I have a large, two-sided coop and have left the connecting door open between the two sides so she can get away, which works for the most part.
My concern right now is that the nighttime temperatures are going to be in the single digits here in Illinois. I wrestle with whether I should let her roost alone on the one side or if I should make her sleep in the side with the other girls for warmth. Plus, I guess I'm puzzled as to why the flock would suddenly just single her out to terrorize. One day I happened to look out the window and saw all the birds gathered around Gertrude, taking turns attacking her. She wasn't bleeding, so that wasn't what was driving this.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[GodLovesU]

Could you put a heater on the side she sleeps on? If not I would try to put her in with the others after dark and see how that works.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Typically I'd point out that I've seen chickens sleep alone in trees in temperatures of -10 Fahrenheit without issues, but I'm not sure that is appropriate for your situation. Five-years-old is getting up there in chickens. The ones I saw sleeping in trees were healthy, I'm not sure yours is.

Sometimes when chickens detect a weakness in another, either injury or sickness, they can try to run it out of the flock. That is a survival instinct from their feral days before they were domesticated, it's a way to avoid attracting a predator to the flock's living territory. I don't know if this is your problem or not but it kind of checks the boxes. The mass attack could have been something else.

I've never had a hen die from the cold weather, even colder than your single digits. I have had two hens die from extreme heat. Those hens were acting "off" before the heat got extreme, I'm not sure they were totally healthy to start with.

I'm not sure what to suggest. She's probably not going to be any warmer on the side with the others but maybe you could determine that. They can sleep close together for extra warmth but an outsider doesn't always do that. I imagine you want to keep her. I'm not sure if you can as part of the flock. You can try to reintegrate her and see how that goes but she might not be welcomed. Maybe try keeping another hen or two with her and form a second flock. Sometimes these attacks are initiated by one or two and the others join in. Without the instigators they may get along.

Good luck! I wish I could be more positive.

 

[Ziggy1973]

Could you put a heater on the side she sleeps on? If not I would try to put her in with the others after dark and see how that works.

I could probably find a heat lamp around here if I look. Thanks

 

[Ziggy1973]

Typically I'd point out that I've seen chickens sleep alone in trees in temperatures of -10 Fahrenheit without issues, but I'm not sure that is appropriate for your situation. Five-years-old is getting up there in chickens. The ones I saw sleeping in trees were healthy, I'm not sure yours is.

Sometimes when chickens detect a weakness in another, either injury or sickness, they can try to run it out of the flock. That is a survival instinct from their feral days before they were domesticated, it's a way to avoid attracting a predator to the flock's living territory. I don't know if this is your problem or not but it kind of checks the boxes. The mass attack could have been something else.

I've never had a hen die from the cold weather, even colder than your single digits. I have had two hens die from extreme heat. Those hens were acting "off" before the heat got extreme, I'm not sure they were totally healthy to start with.

I'm not sure what to suggest. She's probably not going to be any warmer on the side with the others but maybe you could determine that. They can sleep close together for extra warmth but an outsider doesn't always do that. I imagine you want to keep her. I'm not sure if you can as part of the flock. You can try to reintegrate her and see how that goes but she might not be welcomed. Maybe try keeping another hen or two with her and form a second flock. Sometimes these attacks are initiated by one or two and the others join in. Without the instigators they may get along.

Good luck! I wish I could be more positive.

I really appreciate your insight, gives me things to consider and try. There's no way I'd cull her, at least not at this point...these chicks are pets to me. But I guess I need to consider that something isn't right for the extreme bullying behavior. I had put her on the other side with the others but she just hid in a nest box. I have seen a couple other birds sleep in "her" coop but they haven't since the weather has turned colder.
Thanks again!