Bullied hen, what can I do?

[JNorth]

One of our hens fell I'll so we separated her from the flock. She'd stopped laying and we thought for sure we were going to lose her. Well she bounced back. We have no idea what was wrong with her but aside from not laying eggs, she looks and act perfectly normal.

I wanted to put her back with her sisters but as soon as I bring her out they attack...full on jumping on her back, pulling feathers attack. It's not just one chicken either, there are 3 or 4 that dominate the flock. They've all been together since day one and are 1 year and 4 months old. They are beginning to show signs of their first molt.

Will I ever get her to be part of the flock again? Where she is now there is no access to the outdoor run, I feel bad for her. We don't free range because of dogs and fox but they have a huge run that's surrounded by 7ft deer net, so there is plenty of space for all.

 

[DraigAthar]

Sounds like she was gone long enough for the rest of the flock to think she's an intruder now. I've had that happen, too. I just keep a close eye on them all when I re-introduce the separated hen. They have to work out the new pecking order for themselves, so you kind of have to just grit your teeth and let them battle it out. It's usually more posturing than anything, so as long as no one is getting bloodied they're probably okay. The arguments usually settle down within a few days.

 

[realsis]

Maybe try putting her in the run in a cage where she is safe from attack but can be slowly accepted as part of the flock again. Put her food and water in the cage and this way she can be there with the flock but won't be able to get hurt or killed. I know the feed store has wire cages. Just make sure they can't get to her in the cage. Then after awhile in the cage you can reintroduce her and she will be familiar again to them because they will be seeing her every day in the cage and are more likely to accept her at that point. Put the cage in the run where they can see her yet can not get to her to harm or kill her
This should help with the reintroduction
Of her into the flock. Hope this helps and best of luck. I think this way is good because there is no chance of them harming her and she will be introduced back into the flock. I would not take a chance of physical introduction again without a cage to protect her.good luck and let us know how it goes. If she were my own bird this is what I'd do.

 

[JNorth]

So if I cage her in the run during the day, do I bring her back in at night? Sorry, silly question!

 

[JNorth]

Oh, and how long in the cage before I attempt a reintroduction?

 

[realsis]

I'd leave her in the cage day and night as long as she is still around the flock day and night for about 5 or so days. They need to get used of seeing her again as part of the flock. where they sleep she sleeps but in the cage then after about 5 days try to take her from the cage. there likely might be some pecking but it shouldn't be as severe because they will be used to seeing her day and night. Please keep us posted. This should help. I inter grated my younger pullets this way to my older pullets. It seemed to help. My older pullet is still lead hen but she tolerates the younger ones much better. Hope this helps you out! Best wishes

 

[JNorth]

Okay, so cage in run and cage in coop. Got it. Not sure how I'm going to pull off the cage in the coop but I have a few ideas....

Thank you so much. She's not laying anymore but I can't see culling her when she still happy and energetic.

 

[Jillybean28]

Hi

Just a thought but have you tried an anti-peck spray?

 

[JNorth]

Well it ain't pretty but it works....


I've since put up some smaller chicken wire around the bottom so the others can stick their heads in to peck. Which they did when I first put her in there. She has a corner spot in our enclosed run (has a small door that leads to the bigger run) so she has a corner to go to for safety. The coop is set up similar except I couldn't manage an isolated spot on the roost so she'll just have to sleep in the hay. Better than nothing. She's settled in now and they are leaving her along for the most part. Scratching, pecking and and enjoying the freshest alfalfa ever!

The two other chickens in the pic (well one chicken and one tail) are the ones that are causing the problems. They are the #1 and #2.

 

[JNorth]

Update...

Apparently I did not do a good enough job enclosing a space in the coop. I went out this morning and the hen was out and about! Can't figure out how she escaped. However, she wasn't being bothered by any of the other hens either! Maybe it's because it's been raining nonstop today and their'remore concerned with stay warm and kind of dry, there are a few that LOVE the rain. Hopefully she's been fully accepted back into the flock.