hagoesch
Songster
Hello. Our sweetest hen, Pat, is also the lowest in the pecking order, mercilessly tormented by the other five ladies.
They'd even taken to policing the coop pop door, not granting her entry to take shelter from the cold, the rain, the 543 mph winds. Once I tried carrying her into the coop... they pecked her right back out and she learned to no longer try entering, instead huddling next to the barn beside the door. To keep her safe outdoors I built her a little shelter from scrap wood and two metal window wells. [Photo attached: Pat is the hen left out of the huddle.] The weather has been nice since I put it in the run two days ago, so everyone is out and I've not noticed her try to go inside. They still chase her away from food to eat first and run to inspect whatever she finds, but behavior seemed better. Though she's incredibly skittish.
At nighttime yesterday she was at the far end of the roosting bar by herself, so I nestled her in a gap between two of the others for warmth (low 30° F). This evening I went out and counted only six chickens... Pat was in a nesting box
I picked up and scooched three hens over, then plopped Pat in the space between one of them and our rooster. It took a while for everyone to settle down but I think they'll stay like that. I'm fine doing that every night but obviously they're becoming less and less accepting of her... and/or she's becoming more and more afraid. I'm running out of ideas because I really don't want to re-home her (and wouldn't have any leads to do so in the first place).
I will be so grateful for any thoughts to help my kind little girl. Thank you in advance, Heather
They'd even taken to policing the coop pop door, not granting her entry to take shelter from the cold, the rain, the 543 mph winds. Once I tried carrying her into the coop... they pecked her right back out and she learned to no longer try entering, instead huddling next to the barn beside the door. To keep her safe outdoors I built her a little shelter from scrap wood and two metal window wells. [Photo attached: Pat is the hen left out of the huddle.] The weather has been nice since I put it in the run two days ago, so everyone is out and I've not noticed her try to go inside. They still chase her away from food to eat first and run to inspect whatever she finds, but behavior seemed better. Though she's incredibly skittish.
At nighttime yesterday she was at the far end of the roosting bar by herself, so I nestled her in a gap between two of the others for warmth (low 30° F). This evening I went out and counted only six chickens... Pat was in a nesting box
I picked up and scooched three hens over, then plopped Pat in the space between one of them and our rooster. It took a while for everyone to settle down but I think they'll stay like that. I'm fine doing that every night but obviously they're becoming less and less accepting of her... and/or she's becoming more and more afraid. I'm running out of ideas because I really don't want to re-home her (and wouldn't have any leads to do so in the first place). I will be so grateful for any thoughts to help my kind little girl. Thank you in advance, Heather
We as humans tend to think, that all chicken behavior should be set in stone, one way or another. But, theres always that one odd chicken.... my favorite Rooster.... he sleeps in the nestbox after all his hens have roosted for the night. He will go into coop at dusk after he calls them, hop on the roost and wait until all are in and settled. Then he spruces up the nestbox and goes to sleep. LoL
