pecking order

[roxiek85]

I am new at this, only had my girls 1 year..... my question is I have a hen with one eye (she is blind in one) and she is picked on terribly; is there anything I can do to ease this?

 

[bargain]

Ah good question..... First, to let you know that the term pecking order came to be from poultry. That literally the poultry decide who is the boss and the order of assistant boss, etc, even if a pen is full of hens only..... That being said here are a few things for you to try:

1. have plenty of space for them
2. have lots of areas of interest - hang bits of cabbage or bacon....they would rather pick on that than each other
3. in warm weather, but nonbreakable water bottles in their with bright pennys for them to roll about
4. Give the, treats, lots of greens and things good for them
5. Consider adding a rooster if you don't already have one
6. Depending on size of flock you might want two feeders/waterers so she is not isolated from the food
7. IMPORTANT: If there is ever a wound site, cover with blu kote .....red attracts poultry.

Hope this was helpful and have a blessed day.

 

[pdirt]

More details?

Blood? Ie, how bad is the picking?
Do all the birds pick on the one hen?
Any roosters, how many?
How many birds altogether?
Size of coop and run?

These can help rule out various causes of pecking.

 

[roxiek85]

No roosters, only 4 hens and yes they pretty much all pick on her... mainly just forcing her to stay in the coop. when she tries to come out into run, within 5 minutes one of the others is after her until she runs back in coop. don't have exact dimensions but coop and run are large enough for 4 hens.

 

[donrae]

Sadly, chicken society can be pretty brutal. A bird with an illness, deformity or other issue can be literally killed by the other birds in their effort to purge the flock of illness and not attract the attention or predators. You may have to look into this bird's future with your flock. If you're determined to keep her, I'd advise housing her apart from the other layers with something like a silkie for companionship.