hello. my 2 1/2 year old hen silver laced cochin recently went broody and tonight when i went to lock up my hens i noticed that her left eye was shut. upon further inspection i determined that she was attacked by the rest of the flock. Any suggestions on what I can do. she is able to open her left eye only barely and i cannot determine it's status. I need to know if i should put her in a cat carrier in the coop so she is protected but not isolated or if i should completely isolate her from the others any help is appreciated. -Jake
Isolate her if possible with food and water - my hens often get broody and get chased by the other hens, rather than cockrels. On their own they do fine until the eggs are hatched, onec they have keep the hen isolated (with chicks) and when she stops being broody she'll naturally intergrate back into the flock with 4+ week old chick followers, depending on what age you want to put them in togeather. Obviously if you don't want her to go broody chuck her off the eggs, take tham away and she'll go back to normal life. She won't feel lonley per say because all the other chickens are just potential threats to her potential chicks - probally just making her stressed out. For the eye using a tea bag - warm but not hot and resting it on her eye for a minuite every day should help the swelling and prevent infections, otherwise aslong as the cornea isn't damaged she should heal on her own.
You can also use an antibiotic ophthalmic ointment on the eye, usually available at your feed store. Things have gone best here when the broody is separated during the sitting. Once the chicks hatch and are up and around, at maybe 3 or 4 days, they all want to go back with the flock, and I let them. If the mama does her job, which my few mamas have, she will keep any curious hens away from the chicks. Then when she stops mothering, somewhere around 4 - 8 weeks, the chicks will have a place in flock society, and you won't have to keep them separate til they are full grown, then go through an integration..
