Bullying (no new hen introduced)

[SweetLike]

Hi

We got four hens approx two months ago, they have started laying in the last fortnight. We expected the pecking order to start up, but one hen has been consistently attacking another, and now the second in command hen is also having a go.

At what point do you intervene, and how long before this improves? I have done some reading but it all seems to be about introducing a new hen and it settling down, but mine have been together for a good couple of months and matured together. The bullied hen has always been last out since day 1 etc. It's really horrid hearing her squawks as they go for her again and again

IME once this starts the others will start to join in and they will just keep going for her until she dies. Horrid but true, chickens are not always nice I am afraid.

You need to break the cycle asap. I only know two ways to do this.

Option 1: Take her out and keep her separate for 2-3 weeks. You MAY then be able to reintroduce her as the others have forgotten her but it is equally likely they will go for her as a stranger. You will need to keep a close eye but be prepared to have to segregate her again.

Option 2: if you can achieve complete darkness in the pen eg by shutting them in the laying area, keep them all in darkness for 48 hours. Hens go sleepy and fairly inactive in the dark. They will lose track of time and hopefully forget what they were doing. The dark period needs to be long enough that they get totally out of sync.

Good luck!