Broody hen being bullied

[AnyaWinters]

Hi, I have 7 hens and 1 rooster all 7-8 months old. This is my first flock. One of my Cinnamon Queens decided to sit in one of our 2 avaliable nesting boxes. For about a week now we have been removing any eggs she was sitting on, making sure she got food and taking her out at night to put on the roost. She has not pecked at us and even lefts me pet her but she will fluff up and bawk before I sooth her and then pick her up. My problem is that when checking her over there is a fresh bald spot with some bruises on her neck. We figured it was our rooster and was keeping an eye on her but the next day she had a featherless spot just above her eye. We made her a good size enclosure in the run and put her in it yesterday but she pulled a Houdini and squeezed through somewhere. By the time we got back put her inside at night she had another new smaller bald spot on her neck and small blood spots on her comb and earlobe. While we investigated we caught the rooster grabbing her neck feathers. We put her in a large dog crate for the night and thought we secured the enclosure to try again today to separate her but not an hour later we checked and she was out again and panicking running from the others while one of the hens got ahold of her tail and got a couple feathers. The bullied one is actually seeking out me and my daughter for safty when she sees us.

I've heard about and looked up broody jail but what do I do if she is getting bullied? Will things go back to normal when she starts laying again? Should I keep her in the dog create full time? Should I build a more permanent small broody run?

 

[DobieLover]

It is very normal for the flock to give broody hens a hard time. Their behavior is abnormal as far as they are concerned. They've never seen it before.You don't yet have a broody hen. But you do have a broody pullet. Your cockerel going after her is because he just doesn't know any better at this point in his learning.

I suggest that you invest in a small all wire dog crate, elevate it, put a flat board in the bottom of it for her to sit on, put in a secured food dish and water bottle, lock her in the broody breaker and do not let her out for a minimum of 3 days and 2 nights. She will obviously need to be kept in a secure place. She should be kept within the flock if at all possible. She should not be allowed to have any bedding with her at all as that will encourage nesting.

At the end of her jail sentence, let her out about 1 hour before they normally go to roost. If she roosts, then she's broken and she will integrate back into the flock, more than likely, without issue. If she goes back to the nest box, put her back in the crate for another night and another day and try the next evening. Keep putting her back in until she roosts with the flock when released.