Help! Tiny chicken getting bullied!

[2chickssix]

Hey All,
We have a flock of 13 chickens....8 of which are about one year old. Out of the 8 one of the chicks was much smaller than the others but seemed to hold her own, especially as she was super fast. However although she has grown she is now about half the size of the other hens. We noticed last week that she was acting weird and one night found her in the corner of the run and thought she was dead. Turns out she wasnt but her balance was not right...when you put her down she would fall over.

We put her in our shower, the chicken hospital, and there she has been for two weeks. She is walking better, although still not quite balanced. Her eyes are bright and she is alert and eating well. Nothing else seems wrong with her, except that she is not laying any eggs. I dont really know if she ever has...she really is tiny.

We tried putting her back with the other hens today and they brutally attacked her! We tried to fence her in her own area but somehow she got into the coop again and when we went to check on her she was hiding. She came out and was again chased and pecked!

So back into the shower! She is incredibly sweet, falls asleep on my lap, and we are very attached to her and cannot tolerate her getting getting hurt or killed by the others. On the other hand keeping her in the shower indefinitely is not really a great answer!

Do we try a dog crate in the coop? Do we keep her in the house in a crate as a house chicken? We are at our wits end and could use some advice!

Is there a chance they will ever accept her again or is that just wishful thinking!

 

[chicklover 1998]

Hi I would keep her as a house chicken I don't think they would accept her back usually the bully is the one that has to be removed but if it is the whole flock there isn't much that can be helped, as for her not being balanced that would be something for someone else to figure out for you.

 

[Eggcessive]

They probably attacked her because she was gone for two weeks from the flock. I would cage her inside the coop with food and water. Then after a few days, I would let her outside with the other chickens for supervised free ranging an hour or two before they normally go inside for the evening. Eventually she should be safe enough to be accepted back into the flock. She probably will be pecked some, but just don't let it get out of hand. I have a tiny OEG bantam hen who lives with mostly big hens and roosters, and she is always out in the middle of everything part of the flock. She knows when to run if the others get bossy.

 

[Urban Flock]

They probably attacked her because she was gone for two weeks from the flock. I would cage her inside the coop with food and water. Then after a few days, I would let her outside with the other chickens for supervised free ranging an hour or two before they normally go inside for the evening. Eventually she should be safe enough to be accepted back into the flock. She probably will be pecked some, but just don't let it get out of hand. I have a tiny OEG bantam hen who lives with mostly big hens and roosters, and she is always out in the middle of everything part of the flock. She knows when to run if the others get bossy.

x2