New hen, same story - bullying, not eating

Hi from a newcomer to the forum. We’ve had three purebred hens for the past few years, but two died of old age, so we adopted “Tikka”, an ex-battery hen with only one eye to keep Dorothy, our 3-1/2 year old Buff Sussex company. We’ve read all the posts about introducing new hens and that the established hen will eventually stop bullying the new, but after last two nights, we really need some assurance that all will be okay.

Tikka is MUCH smaller than Dorothy. Dorothy chases Tikka around the garden (free range), pounces on her, completely covering her, pecks, and scratches her head, feet and body. We eventually put Tikka in a fenced run and Dorothy spent the entire day circling and trying to peck through the wire. Later, we could more closely supervise, we let Tikka out and Dorothy went berserk, jumping on top of her and pecking again. Tikka ended up hiding behind the shed making the most pathetic “whimpering” noises; it broke our hearts! We figured they would be okay together in the hutch during the night but when we woke up at first light to let them out, oh my God the sight! The hutch was spattered everywhere with blood – walls, ceiling, and coagulated masses of it on the floor. Tikka’s head had been picked raw, there was almost nothing left of her comb, and her neck and back feathers had been picked down to the skin. Yesterday we supervised them free range but the carnage continued, and they took turns being in the “naughty pen”. Last night they slept separately, but when no sooner had we let them out Dorothy savagely jumped Tikka and I actually had a hard time getting her off! We are worried that, because of the size difference and the fact Tikka only has one eye, we might always have problems. Any advice will be greatly appreciated!!

Also, we have learned that the prior owner of Tikka, who had her for 6 months, only fed her scratch – nothing else – and she refuses to eat layers pellets. We’ve tried mixing the two together with rice and peas, etc. but without success. She is eating grass and worms, thank goodness, but that won't do in the long run. Again, many thanks for any assistance.

Dear Mercury,
Thanks for your reply. I was quite disheartened that I hadn't received any assistance since my plea a month ago and sadly, I had to give her back to her original owner. Your advice sounds like it may have worked. I had tried separating them, but put the new one into a separate pen rather than putting her in the main pen as you suggested. I tried to let them free range under close supervision, but every time I so much as turned my back, Dorothy would severely brutilize her and it wasn't fair to keep them both cooped up all the time. The little one was so sweet it was hard to let her go. Anyway, many thanks for your reply and, if we do try to introduce new hens in the future, I'll certainly give your idea a go.

I'm sorry too that i missed your original post journey, we can thank WG, for bringing the unanswered posts to our attention, we''ll all have to be more observant in future, otherwise, we may all end up WASSUCKED