Can I do anything to help or should I re-home?

[MasAhora]

An idea:
Remove the 2 lower roosters for a period, see how she goes. When her condition is good, return one of the roosters to the flock and watch before returning the 2nd.
They might target another hen if you remove her. Also if they are cockerels i.e. less than 12 months, you may need to determine which are good rooster material.
"free range" does not necessarily help, if they have to come to the same area for food and roosting then the hen is trapped.
The boys need time out, not her, when she is removed she loses her status even more.
Flock harmony shifts when an extra cockerel/rooster is removed, you might be surprised and find it a great change.

 

[letitiah81]

I like the idea of trying to remove the lower 2 roosters for awhile. The whole story is that she was a very strong hen in the flock. When they were first put outside she was a leader. She would peck at my feet when I fed them scratch grain. She was a bit of a bully to the other hens. It's just been since this spring that things have gone bad for her. She spent the past 2 days hiding so well I can't find her. She is sleeping in my garage again tonight where she is unprotected. I am afraid something will get her. I think she currently has no place in the flock since she is not staying with them at all. The other hens are kind of picking on her too. I took some pictures of her today. I'm going to try to figure out how to post them.

 

[21hens-incharge]

To post a pic....
There is a little square above where you type a reply. It has what looks like mountains and a sun. You can upload pics by clicking on upload a picture. Then find the pic in your folder and right click then click on select.
Sometimes pics don't show up right away for new people. I think you have enough posts that it should not be a problem.

 

[letitiah81]

Here she is hiding in the back corner of my garage. She was behind something where she could not even be seen. I just happened to hear her making that worried clucking sound and when I got close enough she came out so I could get a picture. I really think this is a hen problem not a rooster problem. This may sound crazy but could they be trying to "break her" and then just can't stop targeting her? She was a force to be reckoned with as her group of hens were growing up. She is just overt a year now and a totally different hen now from what she was like all last summer and fall. I actually named her after a girl I knew who was a real bully because she was such a bully to the other girls.

 

[donrae]

I have a low tolerance for drama, and in my mind chickens are livestock who are easily enough bought and sold. If someone doesn't fit, they find a new home. So, in your case, I'd either get rid of the roosters, or get rid of the hen. You should have an easy enough time selling a good layer who simply looks a little rough, and she may be much happier in another flock.

 

[Louise Waffles]

Oh, geez. I feel bad for this girl.
She's hiding out, because she doesn't feel safe. She's being overmated for whatever reason....
She can't find/maintain her place in the flock if she's always hiding from them, so, the problem just continues.
I'd put all the roosters in their own, separate area, and see how she behaves and how the other chickens react to her. They can sleep with the flock at night, but let this girl be with her flock without being mated. Let them out supervised, so you can keep an eye on her.
You can choose to rehome, or try to find a way to make it work. And even with time and effort, you may not be able to, and will have to choose who stays and who goes.

 

[Jenify69]

Hi. I'm an Aussie, been reading and learning from your posts for a couple of years now, but don't think I've ever posted myself. Till now.
I have a similar issue with one of our older hens - she is being ravaged by the Suffolk rooster, far more than the younger hens ( she's about 2 years old, one of only 3 older hens, and the other 8 are about 9 months old It's only her being singled out and she has badly damaged feathers and a bald stubbled back from incessant mounting. Her cloaca is inflamed and her whole back end is red. Theres only one rooster in this flock, and he's very busy with the other hens as well, but to nowhere near the same extremes. She too has taken to hiding beneath a bench in the coop, and she's obviously in a lot of discomfort. We've tried separating them but it's only a short term solution. I can't keep her permanently isolated from the rest - she's miserable alone. And he hangs around her pen which doesn't ease her anxiety. As soon as I let her out the whole rampaging rooster thing starts again. The other hens don't seem to bother her at all, just his lordship. I just feel like belting him around his rooster ears till he desists but that's not a solution either. Up till all this started she was a great layer - now she doesn't. Any thoughts anyone? Incidentally your overmated hen looks waaaay better than mine! Mine's really REALLY tatty as well as inflamed. I doubt she has an unbroken feather!

 

[Ridgerunner]

I’m repeating myself, but you need to decide what your goals are. Why do you have chickens to start with? Why do you have roosters? You are getting a lot of good suggestions, which you might follow will depend on you and your goals. You can eliminate the problem-makers, either the hen or one or more of the roosters. How you eliminate them is up to you. You can house them separately. You can keep two or all three of the roosters in a bachelor pad or maybe keep that hen and a couple of others for company in a pen of their own. I think the options are out there, it’s your decision on which way to go.

It’s not always easy to make that decision, I understand that. But that’s part of dealing with living animals, whether chickens or even dogs or cats. I find it is usually best to make a decision so you can move on. Once you do your stress level will probably drop really quickly. Being undecided can really wear you down.

 

[Louise Waffles]

When a hen is that brutalized and miserable, it's time to decide whether to separate or rehome. I made a commitment to keep my animals for the duration of their natural lives, which makes things harder sometimes. I spend a lot of time, money, and effort to make things work. Because so often roosters are what people want to get rid of or can't have, I have a soft spot for them. I keep mine, and they live mostly harmoniously NOW. I had to get a bachelor pad going, and I did want more hens ANYWAY, so now there's enough to go around. But if one hen is miserable, BECAUSE of the roos, the roos would be housed separately. Or, like @Ridgerunner said, you can keep the abused hen with a few others, rooster free, so she can have peace and be happy. And it is important to make a decision and act quickly, because the hen is suffering.