When to return previously sick chicken back to flock?

Jenneh85 · Jul 31, 2015

Egglington was sick since July 7 ish. She is better now eating on her own being spoiled rotten in the house with goat cheese and crumbled yokes.

The other 5 have been out in the coop/run and have gotten bigger then Eggly. I was wondering if its about time to return her to her flock?

If they pick on her what do I do?

Will they recognize her?

I know she will be at the bottom of the rank once returned but I just cannot see her cooped up in the brooder inside the house with a jealous cat who wants to chase her.

Any to ALL help would be greatly appreciated, I love BYC everyone except for a troll was awesome helpers.

fryburgfarmer · Jul 31, 2015

I you receive new chicken(s) (ik this isn't your situation) the waiting time to be completely sure to avoid spreading illness to the rest of the flock is 3 weeks. Seeing as how your bird is up and around I think this rule applies as well here. I guess it depends on the sickness. Was it just a cold or a parasite? I think the other chickens will still recognize her but to be safe, watch her around the other birds for a few days after placing her back with them. If they pick on her I don't think there's much to do except rid the pen of the bully or bullies or separate her into a different pen. Best of luck!

Jenneh85 · Jul 31, 2015

fryburgfarmer said:
I you receive new chicken(s) (ik this isn't your situation) the waiting time to be completely sure to avoid spreading illness to the rest of the flock is 3 weeks. Seeing as how your bird is up and around I think this rule applies as well here. I guess it depends on the sickness. Was it just a cold or a parasite? I think the other chickens will still recognize her but to be safe, watch her around the other birds for a few days after placing her back with them. If they pick on her I don't think there's much to do except rid the pen of the bully or bullies or separate her into a different pen. Best of luck!

I personally do not know if it was a parasite or just a random cold.

Her symptoms when I found her were:

Not eating/drinking
Constantly sleeping
Weird film in beak area
Loss of weight to the point where you could feel her breast bone protrude

Color in feet/beak changed and now she has a hooked beak <-- dont know if this was because of her being sick or if it was because of her growing

I took her to the vet when I first noticed her above symptoms & spent 156 bucks to only get medications and no complete diagnosis they wanted a additional 133 for fecal test and blood work, Only to be told that she wouldnt survive with in the 24 hour window and the results of that test would take up to a week. The vet put her on DE-worming stuff even though she was already previously vaccinated when purchased in may from the pet club feed & tack store.

I am totally new to owning chickens and taking care of them when they are sick or dieing.

I have a coop with in a run, I will close off the other 5 in the coop and let Eggly have free run of the chicken run so they can get use to her walking around and seeing her.

Mrs. K · Jul 31, 2015

They will NOT know her, will equate her with stranger danger. More than likely will be rather mean to her. A single bird addition to the flock is one of the most difficult additions. Everyone knows that she is the newbie to the flock, everyone is willing to give her a peck, keep her from the food and water.

Sometimes it works best if you can take one of your middle hens, not the top hen or the bottom hen in pecking order, put her and the original hen together for a week, until they are not fighting and getting along. They will probably fight a bit at first, but it is more equal as it is one on one. Then add the pair back to the flock. This allows the birds to have a buddy, and to spread the beating out over two birds.

Inside your run, make sure that there are hideouts, where birds can get out of sight from each other, but make sure they are open on each end so as not to make a trap. A pallet leaned up against a wall or even a cardboard box can give a picked on bird a way to get away. You should have multiple feed and water stations. A rule of thumb is let them work it out unless there is blood. So chest bumping, feather picking, and chasing is ok, but pecking until she is bleeding is not.

This can be very stressful for the whole flock. It is why I don't separate birds. If a bird gets sick, I cull it to protect the flock.

In my opinion, separating birds from the flock causes more problems than they cure.

MRs K

Jenneh85 · Jul 31, 2015

Mrs. K said:
They will NOT know her, will equate her with stranger danger. More than likely will be rather mean to her. A single bird addition to the flock is one of the most difficult additions. Everyone knows that she is the newbie to the flock, everyone is willing to give her a peck, keep her from the food and water.

Sometimes it works best if you can take one of your middle hens, not the top hen or the bottom hen in pecking order, put her and the original hen together for a week, until they are not fighting and getting along. They will probably fight a bit at first, but it is more equal as it is one on one. Then add the pair back to the flock. This allows the birds to have a buddy, and to spread the beating out over two birds.

Inside your run, make sure that there are hideouts, where birds can get out of sight from each other, but make sure they are open on each end so as not to make a trap. A pallet leaned up against a wall or even a cardboard box can give a picked on bird a way to get away. You should have multiple feed and water stations. A rule of thumb is let them work it out unless there is blood. So chest bumping, feather picking, and chasing is ok, but pecking until she is bleeding is not.

This can be very stressful for the whole flock. It is why I don't separate birds. If a bird gets sick, I cull it to protect the flock.

In my opinion, separating birds from the flock causes more problems than they cure.

MRs K

As she was sick, I didnt want the other 5 to get what ever she had, that was July 7th.

I personally dont know who the middle hen is, I know who the head of the flock is, but the ranks have changed a bit due to size difference between breeds of hens, I was under the impression that chickens can Identify anther chicken due to the comb?

So I should go and get a chicken so she has a buddy, they were all raised together in the brooder, its just Eggly hasnt been around them since the 7th.

fryburgfarmer · Jul 31, 2015

Jenneh85 said:
I personally do not know if it was a parasite or just a random cold.

Her symptoms when I found her were:

Not eating/drinking
Constantly sleeping
Weird film in beak area
Loss of weight to the point where you could feel her breast bone protrude

Color in feet/beak changed and now she has a hooked beak <-- dont know if this was because of her being sick or if it was because of her growing

I took her to the vet when I first noticed her above symptoms & spent 156 bucks to only get medications and no complete diagnosis they wanted a additional 133 for fecal test and blood work, Only to be told that she wouldnt survive with in the 24 hour window and the results of that test would take up to a week. The vet put her on DE-worming stuff even though she was already previously vaccinated when purchased in may from the pet club feed & tack store.

I am totally new to owning chickens and taking care of them when they are sick or dieing.

I have a coop with in a run, I will close off the other 5 in the coop and let Eggly have free run of the chicken run so they can get use to her walking around and seeing her.

That doesn't sound like a specific illness I know. Just to be safe wait a couple weeks then try your idea. Best of luck!

Jenneh85 · Jul 31, 2015

fryburgfarmer said:
That doesn't sound like a specific illness I know. Just to be safe wait a couple weeks then try your idea. Best of luck!

Hence why she is still indoors, I personally don't know what she had.

I couldn't afford taking her to the vet a second time, as it was 56.45 for a re-visit, and 133 for the fecal and blood work. I already spent 154$ she isnt a pet chicken either.

I just didn't want her to die, I have had her indoors since she was sick since the 7th. I doubt the others would remember her, so I am going to take the one that use to be the leader and give her some company, I cant take Roo ( leader ) I was curious about taking the runt, if that would work as I don't know the rank anymore of the chickens.

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