5 hens won't leave another hen's comb alone

[Chickenchick11]

Hi everyone,
Last year I picked up 6 chicks in June. Everything was great until in August. I was home late because of a club I go to that ends at 8:00. I was in my room and my dad called me and said I needed to go check my chickens right away.(I'm 13) I checked them and found that one of my 3 White Plymouth Rocks named Snow White was bleeding really bad from her comb like her whole head was covered in blood. So I separated her and then about 4 days later tried to reintroduce her, that went bad because one of the 3 Rhode Island Reds I had got named Pebbles went after her head right away. I ended up taking her out because Pebbles had caused her head to bleed slightly. This went on for a month until Pebbles finally left her alone. Now it's been nine months since that happened and I went out the other day and Snow White's head was bleeding again. This time I separated her from the other hens for 4 days again then put her back with them yesterday. At first one of the White Plymouth Rocks named Feathers went after her head but now she has left her alone. Do you have any ideas to keep the others from attacking her again? They have a about 30 by 30 foot fenced in area they have access to on nice days and a about 7 by 10 foot coop. They have 8 nesting boxes to share.(so plenty more than needed)I hang a suet feeder full of treats in the coop to keep their little minds busy to. I'm afraid if I don't do something to help prevent this they are going to do it again and possibly peck her brain and kill her.Also since the first incident Snow White's comb has been more oddly shaped than before the incident. Do you think that has something to do with it? Later I'll post a picture of her comb.

 

[HEChicken]

Try spraying a little Blu-Kote on it. It has Gentian Violet in it, which will make the comb (and anything else it touches) turn blue but it makes the other birds less likely to peck at it. It also has healing properties so will help the hen's comb heal.

 

[Chickenchick11]

Thank you HEChicken,
Next time my dad takes me to the feed store I'll try to find some otherwise I'll see if amazon has it

 

[Chickenchick11]

I was trying to only get pictures of Snow White but Jackie and some others wanted their pictures taken to

. The end of her comb is kinda floppy, do you think that's why they keep pecking it?

 

[Michael Apple]

Rhode Island Reds don't have the best disposition, where Rocks tend to be more docile. Comb cuts bleed quite a bit and chickens are attracted to blood. When a hen is removed from a flock, and reintroduced during the day, the others see her as an outsider. Reintroduction is less stressful to the flock at night when they are all roosting. That way when you let them out the next morning just before sunrise, you can watch them sort things out and ensure no injuries take place. It would be wise to separate the hen until wounds are completely healed. Watch out for topicals like Blue-kote. You don't want to get it in the bird's eyes. Some triple antibiotic ointment would serve well on the head/face since anti-pick topicals can be irritating to mucous membranes. Supplement poultry vitamins twice a week, and make sure there is no crowding at feeders and waterers. Provide enough feeding & watering stations to prevent crowding. Lack of space in the coop and yard can also cause chickens to be more anxious/irritable.

 

[Chickenchick11]

Thank you Michael Apple,
They seem to be leaving her alone now. They have 2 feeders and 1 waterer and I've never seen them fight over those things. I gave them free choice feed for awhile but they just kicked bedding in it and spilled it so now they get 2 meals a day and 1 or 2 snacks like a few handfuls of corn or oats and on nice days they are outside from about noon (so they lay their eggs in the coop first) until about 6 at night in a grass filled run. Every night I check everyone's crop and see if it's full if it isn't that hen gets a nighttime snack until she's full.This is odd but Snow White and Jackie are my 2 nicest girls and Jackie is a RIR. None of my hens are outright mean with people but Snow White and Jackie will run up to you and try to jump in your lap or climb up your back and sit on your shoulder. The others will tolerate being picked up but aren't as people friendly

 

[Michael Apple]

You're welcome. I like to familiarize chicks with hanging feeders at an early age. Feed stays clean and less likely to be wasted if there are section guards on the circular trough too. I use gutter type metal trough feeders for moist feeds and put enough feed in them that they'll eat it all in about 10 minutes. Over time you'll know how much feed to leave so it will be ingested and not wasted, or at risk for getting rancid. Be conservative with scratch grains since most nutrients are in the formulated pellets/crumbles. It is a good idea to supplement vitamin-electrolyte & probiotic powder in waterers a couple days a week.

 

[Chickenchick11]

Thanks again Michael Apple,
I do try to limit treats to no more than an ounce per chicken per day.( I don't have huge hands so a few handfuls are about 3 ounces) They live in a 80-90 year old coop (crazy, I know right!) so there isn't really anywhere to hang a feeder because the walls are solid log and the roof is some 2 by 6s it looks like with 2 by 4s as supports so I don't really want to start drilling holes in the 80-90 year old roof beams. In the pictures that yellow thing is their waterer I can try to put their feeders on pieces of wood like that but last time they knocked the feeder over and were going on top of it and pooping in it. They don't do that with the waterer tho. And Snow White is about 7 pounds she's fat because she just eats and eats and eats so when she has free choice feed she just stuffs herself.

 

[Chickenchick11]

And the nighttime snack is just some good quality( well not like 25 dollar stuff but like Nutrena nature wise layer feed or Purina layena sun fresh recipe) layer food