Dealing with Bully Chickens

A peaceful, well socialized, and coherent flock makes for happy, calm, and stress free flock members who are productive and healthy! When there is strife or division within the flock, it causes stress. Stress leads to a decrease in production, an opportunity for disease, and even death for some members of the flock. Dealing with bully chickens within your flock is an important poultry management skill. I have learned how to recognize, deal with, and prevent bullying in my diverse flock and you can too!

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What Bullying is NOT

Before we dive into how to deal with bully chickens, it’s important that you understand what is NOT bullying within your flock. Chickens actually have a complex social life. There is a distinguished hierarchy established in every flock, this is called the pecking order.

As with every hierarchy system, there will be occasional squabbles, reminders, and settling of disputes amongst flock members. While these may appear harsh when we witness them in our flock, they typically cause no harm. Here are some behaviors you may witness in your flock that are generally attributed to the pecking order:

• occasional pecking if a lower hen invades an upper hen’s space
• a brief squabble between two flock members as they establish who is boss, this is characterized by both members actively participating in the squabble and is usually settled pretty quickly
• a pecking chain: a higher hen pecks a lower hen, that lower hen pecks a still lower hen, and the pecking goes on down the pecking order
• a higher up hen guarding feed or treats (make sure you have plenty of space at your feeders!)

Other behaviors that may seem seem like bullying but are actually NOT may include a rooster mounting a hen (mating) and a hen hissing and pecking another hen while she is in the nesting box (territorial behavior or broodiness).

What Causes Bullying

Chickens are flock animals. Strength and unity within the flock is important for the flock’s survival and productivity. Chickens are also ruthless and cannibals. Weaknesses and differences within the flock could cause them to stand out or appear vulnerable to predators. Thus, chickens will often bully flock members who appear weak or who look different. This is an instinctual behavior that is rooted in the safety-in-numbers, flock mentality.

Another cause of bullying that is caused by domesticating chickens is boredom. Chickens are naturally curious and active creatures. They are smart and they need to be mentality stimulated, otherwise their attention could be diverted to less desired behaviors. Bullying can be caused by boredom and lack of space in a confined flock.

Causes of Bullying:

• a flock member is sick or showing signs of weakness
• a chicken looks different than the rest of the flock members (e.g. a white chicken in a mostly black flock; a crested chicken in a non-crested flock)
• boredom in confined flocks
• lack of space which does not allow hens lower in the pecking order to remain adequately away from hens who are higher up
• improper introduction of new flock members
• too few chickens integrated into an established flock
• new flock members targeting an established flock member in an effort to increase their hierarchy

One common misconception that some chicken raisers attribute bullying to is the breed of the chicken. Yes, some breeds of chickens are naturally assertive. This does not mean they are bullies. When introduced properly to a flock, assertive chicken breeds will peaceably work their way up the pecking order. An assertive breed just means that those chickens will rank higher in the pecking order and may require more patience when introducing new flock members.

Now, there are two scenarios that can occur with bullying amongst chickens. Let’s take a look at those two scenarios.

Scenario #1. Bully Chicken

The first scenario occurs when you have a single chicken who is being a bully. A single hen turning into a bully can be caused by new flock dynamics or by boredom. A bully hen may target another individual hen to bully or she may just be so controversial that she can’t get along with any other flock members. You can recognize a bully chicken by looking for these behaviors.

Bully Hen Behaviors:

• the bully hen may consistently chase a targeted hen
• a targeted hen cannot be anywhere near the bully hen and may try to hide
• the bully hen does not allow any other chicken access to food, water or treats while she is eating or drinking
• the bully hen has a hard time co-existing with the rest of the flock members without pecking them or chasing them
• a bully hen may even try to mount or purposefully pull out feathers of other hens (not to be mistaken with a salt or protein deficiency which causes chickens to pluck their own and each other’s feathers)
• the bully hen may consistently try to goad other hens into fighting

A head hen will sometimes turn into a bully when new flock members are added. She wants to assert her dominance to show the other birds who is boss. However, this can get out of hand when it turns into aggressive bullying.

A new flock member who has been accepted into the flock can also turn into a bully if she thinks she can rank up higher in the pecking order. She will bully the hens who are below her and may even challenge hens higher than her and cause fights.

Flock dynamics can also change when flock members die, are sold, or are otherwise removed from the flock. This sudden gap in the pecking order can lead to bullying.

Solutions:

So, you have a bully hen on your hands, what should you do? The best thing to do is separate her from the rest of the flock for a while. Ideally, she should be separated from the rest of flock but still be able to see and minimally interact with them through a fence. This will prevent you from possibly having to re-integrate her after her separation from the rest of the flock. When you think she has settled down enough, then you can let her join the flock again.

Alternatively, you can completely remove her from the flock for a little break from everyone. The one challenge accompanying this method is the fact that the flock may treat her like a ‘new’ flock member when you go to put her back in with them. Then you would have to re-integrate her. If you put her back in with the flock and she is the one getting bullied, then that means you have to re-integrate her.

Either way, you basically want to separate the bully hen from the flock for a little. The flock can have a break from her bullyish antics and she won’t have the opportunity to cause strife amongst the flock.

Depending on the severity of the bullying, a bully hen may only need a short separation period. Two or three days should cure mild bully hens, however, sometimes longer separation times are necessary for hens who are persistent in being a bully.

If a hen just can’t seem to get along with her flock, you may consider re-homing her to a different flock to prevent your flock from getting too stressed out.

Note:

I want to make a quick note here, if a hen is being targeted by a bully hen, do NOT remove her from the flock! Only remove the bully hen. If you remove the targeted hen this will only make her lower in the pecking order and may lead to flock bullying of the targeted hen.

Scenario #2. Bully Flock

The second scenario involves the whole flock, or at least several different flock members, targeting another hen to bully. This is sometimes caused by a single hen who is different than all the rest or if an individual bird is sick or ailing. With flock bullying, the flock mentality often sets in, and if one bird is bullying another bird, all the other birds join in. These behaviors often characterize flock bullying.

Flock Bullying Behaviors:

• the flock targets an individual and chases her
• the flock mobs another bird
• an individual bird hides or stays up on the roosts to keep away from the flock
• an individual bird is not allowed to eat or drink and is excluded from flock activities (like dust bathing and free-ranging together)

Flock bullying can occur when the flock identifies an individual who is different than all the rest. If there is a single black bird in a mixed flock, she may be targeted for bullying. A crested chicken will be a target in a non-crested flock, and likewise for any other color or look differences.

Bullying can be taken on by the whole flock if integration of new flock members is done incorrectly or too quickly. Ideally, new flock members should be integrated in groups of no fewer than three birds. That way the new birds can stick together while they are being integrated. This gives them the security of being a ‘mini’ flock within the established flock while they are still working into the pecking order. Integrating a single hen into a flock is not recommended.

Another cause for group bullying can be caused by a sick or ailing chicken. The flock senses a weakness in their ranks and wants to get rid of it. This kind of bullying can easily lead to death for the ailing chicken.

Solutions:

So, your whole flock is being a bully. What do you do? First, see if you can identify a reason for the flock bullying.

If it is caused by a difference in appearance, then you will want to make integrating your solution. Also, if flock bullying occurs to new flock members, you will want to try re-integrating them as well. To do this, you will have to set up a pen within the flock’s enclosure. This allows the chickens to interact safely through a fence without hurting each other. For more on the proper way to integrate, check out Integrating New Chickens into a Flock.

If it is caused because a chicken is ill or injured, you will want to separate or quarantine her from the flock. She may not appear to be sick just yet, but chickens are capable of putting on a ‘healthy’ front so that they won’t be targeted. If you can identify the injury or ailment, treat the hen as best as you can.

For targeted hens who remove from their injury or ailment, re-integration may be tricky. The flock will already have a bullying mentality towards her and she will be even lower in the pecking order. Patience, persistence, and time is essential in re-integrating a single hen who has been bullied before.

If you can get most of the flock to accept her, then you may just have to separate a few hens who are being bullies until they realize that the re-introduced hen is a part of the flock again.

Note:

The assertiveness of the different breeds you have within your flock will play a role in how easy it is to integrate or re-integrate flock members. If you are integrating an assertive breed into the established flock, the process will go quicker. Less assertive breeds will need more integration time. Also, less assertive breeds are more likely to be targeted for bullying.

Dealing with bully chickens is an essential chicken keeping skill! Bullying causes stress, strife, and upset in the flock dynamics. All those factors open the flock up to disease, decrease in production, and dis-unity. Whether you’re dealing with a bully hen or a flock of bullies, there are solutions to both behavior issues. Maintaining a unified and cooperative homestead flock can be achieved through proper integration methods, preventing disease and injury, and ensuring that your flock has plenty of space and mental stimulation!

And don’t forget, make sure you join our modern pioneer newsletter community or check out the Trading Post for more helpful poultry resources!

by Alexa