Henpecked!

Henpecked!

November 1, 2020

(Washington's bald head!)

Have you ever had to deal with the issue of henpecking in your flock? If you don't know what that is, then let me explain: To put it in simple words, henpecking is when a member of your flock is targeted and singled out. Once that happens, almost every other flock member will team up and pick on that one hen. This usually results in bloody combs, legs, and heads. The hen could also have had her feathers pulled out. Well, I present you today with a tried-and-true method that will help you establish order in your coop.

In our flock, we introduced a new hen named Washington a few weeks ago. She is a Production Blue. Due to her small size, everyone in the flock picked on her. Then it turned to henpecking. They pulled our her feathers, and even pecked her until blood was seeping from her head. (I honestly hope Washington didn't suffer brain injury. She seems fine, so I'm guessing she's okay. I hope.) After that, we separated her from the rest of the flock and kept her inside our spare bathroom. As soon as we returned her after a couple of days, there was still no improvement. 

Finally, we looked up ways to stop henpecking, and we found out that if you separate the chickens that are henpecking another hen away somewhere else, by the time they come back, they will be at the bottom of the pecking order. We tried it out, and it actually worked! We observed that Lafayette, our French Maran rooster, dearly loved Washington, and that Hamilton, our Rhode Island Red, just plain out ignored Washington. Our Buff Orpingtons were the ones who henpecked Washington. 

So, we separated our Buffs in a dog kennel for about 2 days of "jail time". During that time, it was fun to see Washington be able to walk around like she owned the place. When we returned the Buffs back to the coop, they were pretty much ignored. However, if they even came near Washington, Lafayette would chase them around the coop, and sometimes even peck them!

Now, Lafayette and Washington are the best of friends. They do everything together! The reason why Lafayette defends Washington is that one of a rooster's jobs is to keep order in the flock. If they see another hen being picked on, a rooster will usually step in and defend her. I suggest the "jail time" method if you have to deal with the issue of henpecking. I'm sure it will help your flock! Right now, Washington is quite bald. But pretty soon, her new feathers will unfurl, and she won't be bald ever again, thanks to Lafayette!