Bullied hen

[hagoesch]

I think that I missed the part about her hard molt. Yup, she is probably chilly and a bit not so much herself right now. May I suggest giving her some water with Rooster Booster in it, and some cooked egg, and fresh leafy greens. That should help her out with the molt.

"Changing of the guard" HA. Truth. I try to give her extra treats but the others usually scare away, even with a look, ugh. I'll offer NutriDrench water tomorrow. Good idea, thanks!

 

[rosemarythyme]

my thought process was that if I put her on the top bar amid the others that she'd be more accepted. (Also to stay warm as we begin our descent into the 20s overnight after snowy/wet days not much warmer.) From your suggestions it seems that she would be fine, if not better off, by herself either at the far end of the top bar or alone on the bottom. Is that correct? Would she be warm enough on her own?

She's better off alone on a lower bar where no one's pecking at her, and should stay perfectly warm even while molting, as long as the roost area is draft free.

What you can do overall to help her with flock interactions is make sure to have 2 or more feed stations spaced far enough that they can't be guarded so readily, and to provide a variety of clutter to keep the flock busy and to give her ways to hide if needed.

She is the bottom. Unfortunately, there will always be one on the bottom even if you choose to intervene and change the pecking order.

Yup, IMO best not to intervene unless she is physically being injured or prevented from eating. You may feel bad for her, but even being on the bottom of the pecking order she's still part of the pecking order.

 

[hagoesch]

She's better off alone on a lower bar where no one's pecking at her, and should stay perfectly warm even while molting, as long as the roost area is draft free.

What you can do overall to help her with flock interactions is make sure to have 2 or more feed stations spaced far enough that they can't be guarded so readily, and to provide a variety of clutter to keep the flock busy and to give her ways to hide if needed.

Yup, IMO best not to intervene unless she is physically being injured or prevented from eating. You may feel bad for her, but even being on the bottom of the pecking order she's still part of the pecking order.

Thank you for this! In the past week I have added a couple more feeding stations (basically stumps -- free feeders!) and put my homemade shelter in. I also rearranged their netting fence to include more space close to the barn for more protection from winds coming up the hill. Am going to attempt distracting the others later with some BOSS to sneak scrambled eggs and greens to Pat. I'm pretty sure she has ample opportunity to eat enough now but I think she's still running at a deficit. Appreciate your help and reminders about pecking order (that I wish weren't true but alas, Nature knows best). CHEERS

 

[aart]

She's better off alone on a lower bar where no one's pecking at her, and should stay perfectly warm even while molting, as long as the roost area is draft free.

What you can do overall to help her with flock interactions is make sure to have 2 or more feed stations spaced far enough that they can't be guarded so readily, and to provide a variety of clutter to keep the flock busy and to give her ways to hide if needed.



Yup, IMO best not to intervene unless she is physically being injured or prevented from eating. You may feel bad for her, but even being on the bottom of the pecking order she's still part of the pecking order.

Ditto Dat!!

 

[hagoesch]

Ditto Dat!!

Thanks for adding your voice of assent to these suggestions!