The Picked on Hen

[TheMotleyCoop]

Hi all, I have a flock of 10 chickens; 9 hens and 1 rooster. We live in a neighborhood so while they have a lot of free range backyard time, they spend about 80% of their time in their coop and chicken run. It's a big space, about 100 square feet, plus a covered, hayed area and the coop itself. We have two silkies, one of whom turned out to be the rooster, so only 1 silkie hen—Gretchen. She's inevitably somewhat smaller (although not massively smaller) than all the other hens and was often the one left out or pecked on. When she started brooding this summer, we let her hatch three eggs in hopes she would bond with her hatchlings. At first it went great but now the chicks are grown hens (none of whom are full silkie, clearly they are other hens genes) and they have turned on her. These three young hens and most of the rest of the flock, chase her around their coop and peck at her. She usually spends the morning out in the coop with them being chased, she gets food and water and spends the rest of her time in the coop alone. She also sleeps alone in the hay because she doesn't fly up onto the roosting bars. I'm a little worried that she'll be cold come the cold winter.

I'm looking for advice, is this just how it goes with chicken flocks or should I take action? I've considered going to get another silkie hen so she could bond with a fellow smaller hen and have a sleeping mate. Or, trying to separate two of the birds who pick on her and letting the flock re adjust. Or perhaps just leaving it be and letting the chickens, chicken.

I'd love to hear opinions. Thanks!

 

[azygous]

Silkies lean toward being timid as a breed. So that's a strike against your Silkie hen to begin with. Her smaller size and ingrained temperament may make it attractive for other chickens to bully her.

Getting another Silkie hen for her as a companion doesn't generally work out as people would love to believe. Chickens are among the most cliquey of animals. Their most common bond is with the chickens they were brooded with as baby chicks. Several years into adulthood, chickens may begin to form close bonds with other chickens. For example, I had a group of very old hens ages ten, eleven, twelve, and thirteen, who were inseparable and hung around together.

Bringing in a new, strange chicken is one of the most difficult things you can do. It shakes up the social order of the flock, forcing new competitions for the changing order. And there is no guarantee any of the chickens will make friends with the newcomer, let along the one hen you bought her for.

There is a way to bolster the self confidence of your Silkie hen so she will not be bullied. I wrote this article explaining how to go about doing this. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/chicken-bully-chicken-victim-a-two-sided-issue.73923/