Atacked by other hens

[Farmerwife1]

I had two hens that were getting plucked by some other hens. I removed them for a couple weeks and reintroduced them last night. I got home today and one was dead and the other had all her tail feathers out. I brought the plucked one into my hospital in the garage. I was wondering how I should doctor her and when she has her tail feathers back, can I and how do I introduce her back to the flock?

 

[glassdragonfly]

Hi! Sorry for the loss of your hen. Chickens will peck at any wounds. If she is not bloody and just has feathers removed you can start to reintroduce her. Otherwise she will need to heal up first. When introducing a new member to the flock they should be able to see each other for a while before being put together. Sounds like she has been away from the others long enough that to them she's new. I have large cages that I put in the coop/run. The new members are caged with half the cage covered so they have a quiet space. After about a week I start letting them out(supervised) when everyone is free ranging.Hope this helps,maybe some more experienced folks will give you some more help.

 

[hysop]

Aww poor thing. I am no expert, but I personally would not reintroduce her. I’d make a whole new flock just for her.

You could maybe try a dog crate and place her there. The dog crate would protect her but theyd

 

[hysop]

Whoops my post sent without me finishing my sentence.

The dog crate would help protect her and they others would be able to get used to her. Or if you can place her nearby where they can see her but not have access to her.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Sorry about your loss. Don't know if it's possible in your case, but the "see don't touch" method usually works well. Can you divide your run somehow with chicken wire so she can be beside them during the day, and put her in a safe place like a garage at night, perhaps in a dog crate (so she doesn't fly to the rafters and poop on your car, lol)? During the day then they could socialize with no fear of harm for, say, a week, and then try integrating again, or free ranging together if you free range. If days together go well then you can start letting her find her place in the coop at night and see how that goes. Does this make sense?

 

[Farmerwife1]

Yes, thank you! I think she will be in my hospital for quit a little bit. However long it takes for feathers to grow in on a raw bald hind end.

 

[slordaz]

from what happened, probably not introduce properly, but if anyone has to go I would get rid of the aggressive hens , do a proper introduction with a flock but no contact period with the others, it's either stew pot or freezer camp. no room for aggressiveness in a flock either hen or rooster for everyone sanity

 

[Lizzy733]

Aside from the weeks apart, any idea what might have started the first spate of feather plucking? If not a nasty hen, there might be something else at play that has your girls all riled up.

 

[Farmerwife1]

from what happened, probably not introduce properly, but if anyone has to go I would get rid of the aggressive hens , do a proper introduction with a flock but no contact period with the others, it's either stew pot or freezer camp. no room for aggressiveness in a flock either hen or rooster for everyone sanity

We will have to spend more time figuring out who is the problem. We have removed two, we thought were the problem and put them in with the turkeys. But I think we have two others.

 

[slordaz]

We will have to spend more time figuring out who is the problem. We have removed two, we thought were the problem and put them in with the turkeys. But I think we have two others.

sorry to hear that, you might have to then re-home the one they are bullying so bad for her own good