How to Prevent Chickens from Bullying Each Other

Bullying is a behavior issue in the homestead flock. Sometimes bullying can be the result of the dominant personality characteristic of certain breeds. However, more often than not bullying is usually a sign of boredom, stress, a pecking order change, or overcrowding of the flock. The good news is that bullying can easily be prevented! Learning how to prevent chickens from bullying each other can help you raise a peaceful homestead flock and minimize stress in the flock. A stress-free flock will be more productive, healthier, and exhibit more natural behaviors. These 7 tips for preventing bullying in the homestead flock will be helpful for raising your flock like a modern pioneer!

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#1. Proper Integration of New Birds

Chickens have a pecking order which helps them establish dominance and status within the flock. The pecking order gets disrupted anytime new chickens are added to the flock or any time chickens are removed from the flock.

Whenever you add new chickens to the homestead flock you will want to make sure you follow proper integration methods. Integration is a method of slowly introducing the new chickens to your established flock. The gradual introduction allows the established flock to slowly adjust their pecking order to accommodate the new chickens.

Integration also allows the new chickens time to adjust to their new surroundings and build-up confidence around the established flock. The gradual process of integration helps prevent the established flock from bullying the new chickens. When new chickens are plopped ‘cold turkey’ into an established flock, the flock members will see them as intruders and bullying may occur.

Here are some integration tips that will help prevent new chickens from being bullied:

• avoid integrating a single chicken, instead integrate chickens in groups of at least 3-4 birds or more
• allow plenty of time for the two groups of chickens to interact through some fencing before putting them together
• always supervise the intital interactions between the new chickens and established flock when they are put together for the first time
• give the new chickens time to explore the coop and enclosure without the established flock present so they can get familiar with their surroundings

For more tips on introducing new chickens to your homestead flock, make sure you read Integrating New Chickens into a Flock.

#2. Remove the Sick & Injured

In the wild, a flock of chickens would have functioned in ‘survival of the fittest’ mode. Some of those survival instincts still exist in many chicken breeds today. Weakness would attract predators, which meant the flock would usually shun a sick or injured bird from the flock. This is also one reason why chickens try to hide their symptoms whenever they are sick or ailing.

On the homestead, sick or injured chickens can be the victims of bullying in the flock. If a chicken starts to show signs of weakness, a dominant hen (or several hens) may start to bully the hen. When the bullying draws blood, serious pecking and even cannibalism can occur.

You will want to remove any chickens who get sick or who are injured from the homestead flock. This not only prevents them from getting bullied, but it also allows you to treat their condition better. Move sick or injured birds to an infirmary pen where you can treat their ailment and keep them separate from the flock.

Once a sick or injured bird has recovered or healed, you may need to re-integrate the chicken back into the flock. Follow proper integration methods to prevent the chicken from getting bullied. Chickens who were previously high up in the pecking order will re-integrate faster. Chickens who were absent from the flock for only a short amount of time or who had interaction with the flock even during the quarantine will also re-integrate faster.

A Note on Broody Hens:

Broody hens can sometimes the victim of bullying by other members of the flock. When they leave the nesting box, other flock members may target her and keep her from accessing food and water. That is one reason why it is often a good idea to separate a broody hen when you are letting her raise chicks.

If you don’t have eggs for the broody hen to incubate, you will want to use a broody breaker to end her broodiness. Which will also solve the bullying issue.

#3. Provide Plenty of Space

Chickens may start to bully each other if there is not enough space for each bird to have its own ‘bubble space’. Birds higher up in the pecking especially seem to think they have more ‘bubble space’ than birds lower in the pecking order. Providing enough space for everyone is essential for preventing dominant hens from bullying subordinate hens.

You will want to make sure there is enough space for the size of your flock in both the chicken coop and in their enclosure. The more space the better! In general, follow these guidelines when planning your chicken coop:

• Coop Space: 4-6 square feet per chicken or more
• Enclosure Space: 10-12 square feet per chicken or more
• Bantams: 2-3 square feet coop space, 7-8 square feet enclosure space

When planning your chicken coop, make sure you consider if you will be adding more birds to your flock in the future. Building a bigger coop than what you need always pays off! If your homestead flock size does out-grow the coop you built, you may have to build another coop.

Free-ranging can also help prevent bullying due to space issues. Even if your flock only gets supervised free-range time, the time spent outside their coop and enclosure can make for more peaceful relations within the flock.

Free-ranging is especially helpful if you have a flock with multiple roosters. Each rooster can claim his area without getting in another rooster’s ‘bubble space’.

#4. Proper Chicken Coop Design

Along with planning plenty of space in the chicken coop and enclosure, you will also want to pay attention to how you design the chicken coop. A proper chicken coop design can help prevent bullying in the flock.

Here are some factors to consider when designing or improving your homestead chicken coop:

• Make sure there is enough feeder space for at least half of your flock to eat at one time. You want the subordinate hens to be able to eat after the dominant hens have left the feeder.
• The same applies to water. Make sure there is plenty of water and waterers in and around the chicken coop and enclosure.
• Make sure there are plenty of roosts in the coop. Allow up to 12 inches of roosting space per chicken.
• Likewise, make sure you have enough nesting boxes for the number of hens in your flock. Allow 1 nesting box for every 4-5 hens.

Ensuring that there is plenty of resources for everyone will minimize competition within the flock for food, water, roosting spots, and nesting boxes. Plenty of space and resources for the whole flock will cut back on stress and prevent bad behaviors like bullying.

#5. Get a Rooster

Another way to curb bullying in the homestead flock is to get a rooster. Roosters serve several important roles in a flock’s social structure, one of which is acting as peacemaker. Roosters are separate from the hens’ pecking order, but they do have ultimate say over even the dominant hens in the flock.

When fights or squabbles break-out amongst the hens, a rooster will step in, break-up the fight, and may even discipline the instigator of the issue. Of course, don’t expect every rooster to exhibit the same traits. Some breeds of roosters will be more responsible for the activities and interactions within the flock. Roosters who are good protectors, polite to the hens, and who are not too laid back will also be good peacemakers in the flock.

If you have several roosters in your homestead flock, you may need to consider how to prevent bullying amongst the roosters as well. Many of these bullying prevention tips also apply to roosters as well. Check out this post on How to Manage Multiple Roosters for tips on keeping several rooster in the homestead flock.

#6. Varied Flock

The hardest type of bullying to prevent in the homestead flock is bullying of chickens that are ‘different’. With so many chicken breeds to choose from, many homestead flocks are a collection of a variety of unique and special chicken breeds. Some breeds have unique features that make them look different than other chickens.

Chicken breeds that have muffs (feathers on their cheeks) and crests (feathers on top of the head) can especially be targeted by other flock members. With muffed and bearded breeds, sometimes food and water will get stuck on their facial feathers, which can instigate the other flock members to peck at those feathers and pull them out.

With crested breeds, just the fact that they look different can cause other flock members to bully them. The same goes for a chicken that is the only bird of its color (variety) in the flock. A black chicken in a flock of all white birds will be a target for bullying.

Keeping your flock all the same breed is one way to prevent bullying of ‘different’ looking chickens, but that is not always practical (or desired) on the homestead! Here are some ways to prevent bullying in a varied flock.

Mixed Flock Tips:

• Start with Variety– Start your flock with a variety of breeds. The sooner your flock gets used to different unique flock members, the more accepting they will be if you add more ‘different’ looking chickens to the flock.
• No Singles– Avoid having a single ‘different’ looking chicken in the flock. Adding Polish chickens to your flock? Don’t add just one, get at least 3-4 and integrate them properly into your flock.
• Slow Integration– Take integration slowly. When integrating new ‘different’ looking chickens into your flock, take integration especially carefully and watch for any signs of bullying.
• Don’t Remove Them– Avoid removing ‘different’ birds who get bullied. Removing the chicken will only make it harder for you to introduce the chicken back to the flock. Instead, try removing the main bully hen (if there is one) or use methods to protect the feathers of the chicken getting bullied.
• Pinless Peepers– Pinless peepers are basically blinders that eliminate forward vision but still allow for vision to either side of the head. They are often used for breeds and poultry species who have a tendency to pick on each other. You can use pinless peepers in the homestead flock if you can’t seem to stop your hens from picking on a bird who is ‘different’.

#7. Boredom Busters

Boredom can cause chickens to resort to bullying. In their efforts to keep themselves entertained, they may resort to picking on the weakest or lowest hen in the flock. Chickens are smart and they need to be stimulated both mentally and physically.

Boredom can be an issue with flocks that have to cooped up all the time. Providing your flock with plenty of space even when they have to be cooped up can help prevent boredom, but there are also some ways you can provide boredom busters to keep your flock entertained.

Here are some ways to stimulate your flock when they have to be cooped up.

Flock Boredom Busters:

• DIY obstacles in the enclosure– wooden ramps, various perches, chicken swing, old tires
• treat pinatas– hang healthy fruits and vegetables so the chickens can peck at them pinata-style
• fodder boxes– build a box with a hardwire cover and plant fodder in the box so the chickens can graze the fodder without ruining the fodder roots
• straw– during the winter, straw bales are great boredom busters for the homestead flock

Of course, free-ranging your flock if possible is a great way to eliminate boredom! Even if they only get to free-range for a little bit each day, or only a few days out of the week, the natural stimulation will help keep your flock content and happy.

For northern homesteaders, the winter months may be when your flock has to stay cooped up more than usual. That’s when healthy boredom busters are essential for preventing the bad behavior of boredom bullying.

For flocks that have to be cooped on a regular basis, make sure you provide areas where the lowest hens in the pecking order can get away from more dominant hens. Having plenty of perches in both the chicken coop and the enclosure can provide a way for subordinate hens to get out of the way of dominant hens.

No More Bullies!

Bullying is a bad behavior in the homestead flock, however, it is a pretty easy behavior to prevent by implementing a few good flock management practices. Start by making sure your chicken coop and enclosure has plenty of space, food, water, roosts, and nesting boxes for the size of your homestead flock. Then consider how you can prevent issues that cause bullying, such as stress, boredom, or sickness. Roosters are also a great addition to the homestead flock when you are trying to prevent bullying! Hopefully these tips for how to prevent chickens form bullying each other will help you raise a peacefully and happy homestead flock!

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by Alexa