# Hen attacked another hen...had to isolate



## hippygirl (Apr 3, 2010)

OK...

About 3 weeks ago while hanging out clothes, one of my hens began attacking another. Before I could get across the yard and into the run, the hen's head was bleeding profusely and the skin was completely gone behind her comb (about the size of a quarter, maybe a bit bigger). I removed her, cleaned up the wound, applied antibiotic ointment, put her into my brooder pen, and placed it on the back porch. I kept a close eye on the wound, cleaning regularly and applying ointment, and it has healed completely over and the feathers are coming back in.

After DH got home today, we tried putting her back into the run with the others, but before DH could get the gate closed, the same hen chased her down and started attacking her again (she cowered down in the corner of the run and didn't fight back). Luckily, as DH was right there at the gate, he got to her before any damage was done except for what looks like a single peck.

I'm afraid that even if I wait until her head completely feathers back out, it'll be the same thing. In addition, I've got 20 chicks coming the middle of March and am afraid that when it comes time to put them on the yard (when they're big/old enough), she'll attack them as well.

So, what do you guys think? I just don't know why, all of a sudden, this hen is so viscious towards that one! She she doesn't bother the others...just that one.

I really don't want to cull her, but if I have to, I will. Has anyone dealt with this and, if so, what did you do?

Thanks


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## Suzyq2u (May 17, 2010)

Maybe try putting her on the roost one evening once everyone's settled and see what happens in the morning. Reintroducing her mid-day may be an issue. 
As for the original attack...do you have a roo? That's where ours hold on to the feathers, sometimes it gets a little rough. If she started bleeding it would cause the flurry you saw to pick at it. If it's still quite red, might try some 'blue kote' on it. We've used pine tar as well when our flock was younger.


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## Reb (Dec 29, 2006)

Mornin Hippygirl, I had the same problem with one of my hens attacking another, out of the clear blue, and sending feathers flying. I took the attacker out for a few days, and kept her isolated. She was obviously the top hen and fussed back and forth until she was put back in the main pen. Well, let me tell you, the rest of the girls ran her around the pen, pulling on her head and I reckon getting revenge for her bad behavior. Now she is very humbled and at the bottom of the flock. She is a leghorn and you could tell when she was getting ready to attack cause she'd fan her tail feathers and act like a rooster. I now have a rooster that she tried to bully. Boy did she find out real quick that he was not taking any of her crap, LOL. Take care, Reb


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## DTChickens (Jan 18, 2012)

As a game breeder, I can assure you hens can get rather testy sometimes. I'm not even sure why, just one day the hens decide they don't like each other and they need to be separated. It is usually effected by weather in my experiences, if it is a real hot day and you get one that is in the 60s or so feeling good.. The hens can sometimes turn aggressive over that, other times they just start fighting over food, eggs, nests, etc. It could be the littlest thing to turn the best of friends into the worst of enemies.

Some hens resolve the issues themselves, others are not so easy and the battles may become quite brutal (as yours seems to have been). The usual route is separation, reintroduce on a different day after they have calmed down. Never separate the bird lower in the pecking order as this will only make matters worse for her when she is reintroduced, always take the other hen out. 

Don't introduce at night, introduce when you can supervise the situation because she will react the same way to her in the morning as she did previously. She will know there is a different bird there that wasn't previously and begin chasing her when you are not around to intervene if necessary. 

If you don't have a cock, getting one can come in handy. Not all cocks will, but many cocks will try to separate the hens when they begin fighting and police the group.

Depending on the hen, it may be necessary to cull her. Some hens just never give up, but this is usually not the case, especially if she is a average laying hen (Rhode Island, Leghorn, Australorp, etc..)

God bless,
Daniel.


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