Author Topic: Bullying new hens (Read 2501 times)

wannabesmallholder · « **on:** June 08, 2018, 11:01:12 am »

Sorry I feel like I’m always on here asking stupid questions about my bullying problems.... hadn’t realised hen politics was so complex!!

I’ve had to isolate a hen as she was so bullyied she ended up with a really bad injury. In the meantime the flock has reduced a little, removing one rather aggressive cockerel and another hen, to leave us with 3 orpingtons, plus the isolated maran.

Yesterday I bought 3 hybrid girls and last night I put the isolated maran (now fully recovered) and the 3 new ones in with our original 3 orpingtons, hoping that reintroducing the bullied one with 3 new girls would reduce the impact. They’ve spent the night in the house together, but now the 4 newcomers to the hen house are staying huddled together in the house, refusing to come out. When one did dare to venture out, she was chased and pecked mercilessly by the orpingtons.

Do I just leave them to it to work out the pecking order or should I intervene? I was thinking about fencing the orpingtons in inside the free-ranging area and letting the newcomers become a bit braver without the big bullies getting to them. The newcomers are obviously not eating or drinking anything all the while they are hiding away in the hen house.

I thought orpingtons were supposed to be a gentle breed!!

Perris · « **Reply #1 on:** June 08, 2018, 04:14:32 pm »

some time spent looking but being unable to touch is usually recommended, and has worked for me, so yes I'd create an internal division. And give each set their own feeders and drinkers, of course!

wannabesmallholder · « **Reply #2 on:** June 08, 2018, 04:43:23 pm »

Thanks [member=168910]Perris[/member] Do you think they’d be ok going all back in together at night as I don’t have an easy way to separate them at night $:-\$

Fleecewife · « **Reply #3 on:** June 08, 2018, 05:12:01 pm »

I think it wouldn't be overnight that was the problem, but when they wake up and have several hours of daylight before you let them out. When we have had new hens recently, they have hidden in the nest boxes until the rest go out. Is there any way to divide the house temporarily? Is it a small house or a large one? If it's small then the new hens would be being forced to invade the Orps' personal space.

It would be the Orpingtoms I would isolate from your new hens, so the new ones have the original house to settle into, then when they have all got used to eachother through the fence, the Orps will be the newbies. Might work. But it does take a while for a new pecking order to be established, especially as you have removed the aggressive cock and hen, so things have to start from scratch

wannabesmallholder · « **Reply #4 on:** June 08, 2018, 09:57:29 pm »

Ok thank you [member=4333]Fleecewife[/member] I have got the orpingtons penned in against the run of the house and so they can see the new ones during the day in the original house and run. Tonight I moved the Orpingtons into the children’s Wendy house, which is quite a pain as involves a long walk with a wriggling dog carrier of heavy hens, but I suppose that what needs to be done for now. Hopefully not for too long!

Fleecewife · « **Reply #5 on:** June 08, 2018, 10:22:50 pm »

I hope it works

ps - you can never have too many wheelbarrows. Dog cages fit them perfectly

nutterly_uts · « **Reply #6 on:** June 08, 2018, 11:24:44 pm »

I have to admit I hated every minute of owning orpingtons!! Not my cup of tea at all, esp when one got fly strike :O

Perris · « **Reply #7 on:** June 09, 2018, 06:48:12 am »

good luck with it wannabe! when you put them back together, can you create some hiding places or obstacles in the run? in my experience the chasing is in short bursts, and if the hen-pecked can run away and disappear from sight, no serious injuries are sustained while the pecking order is being created.

wannabesmallholder · « **Reply #8 on:** June 09, 2018, 09:11:56 am »

Quote from: nutterly_uts on June 08, 2018, 11:24:44 pm

I have to admit I hated every minute of owning orpingtons!! Not my cup of tea at all, esp when one got fly strike :O

That’s interesting [member=74867]nutterly_uts[/member] - what was it you hated so much, other than the flystrike

I have to admit I am thinking of getting rid of at least 2 of the 3. I wonder what price you sell Orpingtons for? We never planned to have orpingtons- they were part of a last minute hatching project carried out at my daughter’s school in January and we just got whatever fertile eggs were available.

wannabesmallholder · « **Reply #9 on:** June 09, 2018, 09:15:16 am »

Thanks [member=168910]Perris[/member] fingers crossed they will work it out. They have a run, but it’s open all the time onto a free ranging area of about a quarter of an acre, but it’s fairly open so maybe I should put in some log piles or something.

nutterly_uts · « **Reply #10 on:** June 09, 2018, 06:23:03 pm »

Quote from: wannabesmallholder on June 09, 2018, 09:11:56 am

Quote from: nutterly_uts on June 08, 2018, 11:24:44 pm
I have to admit I hated every minute of owning orpingtons!! Not my cup of tea at all, esp when one got fly strike :O

That’s interesting [member=74867]nutterly_uts[/member] - what was it you hated so much, other than the flystrike I have to admit I am thinking of getting rid of at least 2 of the 3.

I found them to be grumpy and one was very pecky and seemed determined to make every day tasks 100x harder by trying to peck me the whole time. They were a bit thick and didn't take to being shepherded to do things, and never really tamed up for running over for treats let alone being hand fed and one or two (never sure) seemed to be allergic to nest boxes

They were my first bought in chickens (previously I had hatched my own) so there might have been that element too. One was an ex-show chicken and the others from same place so they were supposed to be very used to being handled but they were just not a breed for me!