Chicken attacked by flock

[sagehound]

If I had not gone thru it I would of probably brushed it off and not given it a second thought. (The video). It’s so subtle to begin with that on the outside looking in its easy to miss. If the OP spends time out with her chickens and would like to know what I experienced I’d be happy to share. What to watch for. My hen in any other environment would be by all rights dead by now. She’s a special needs chicken that I can deal with but in another environment she wouldn’t make it.

I would love to know what you have experienced. I spend a lot of time with my chickens which is why this totally caught me off guard. However, I did notice the odd backing up and weird behavior. I would really appreciate any insight you can provide. I am not sure what to do as I don't want her to get picked on. I also don't want her to be lonely.

 

[cmom]

If you're worried about the cold, you can also put some hay in the cage you have her in. It's hard to say what happened but it does once in a great while. I have had some birds pick on one in particular bird for no apparent reason. It appears you have things under control. Do you have a game camera you could put up to observe the birds behavior? If she hurt herself in some way, the others may pick on her where she was injured. Good luck...

 

[HeyHo]

Regarding the backing up.... my little roo did that when he tried to crow with his no-crow collar on. Almost like he was backing up from pain/discomfort, etc. He only stopped when he ran into something. Very similar to this little pullet. Perhaps it is not a neurological issue but another/persistent injury. Maybe from prior bullying. I don't know anything -- I'm a new chicken person too -- but I would be spooked like the OP and thought I would mention it.

 

[MissChick@dee]

The biggest concern is food. Her behaviors were off from about 4 months of age. The day I threw out mealworms and she acted like she couldn’t see them is when I started noticing...and finding all the problems.
She has gotten worse as she gets older.
Is your hen underweight? Feel light?
Mine would peck but not eat as if she couldn’t see. I counted once and she pecked at a sunflower seed 19 times. She often would get frustrated at mealworms and walk away. Very not normal.
My hen will spend 20-30 minutes at the feeder. So I crated her one day to actually monitor what she was eating. She’s gotten better at taking things from my fingers. The palm was easy for her. There’s no competition at my feeder so she eats feed as she pleases...she just misses a lot. The others pick on her but my run is spacious 200sq ft for 4 birds. There’s perches and many other things she can jump up on and get out of the way. I personally feed her twice a day. She’s gotten better at pecking/eating but her backing up episodes have escalated and gotten much worse. She’ll tuck her beak down to her chest shake her head as if something is stuck on her beak and run full force until she runs into something or I shout her name. I don’t know where things will lead with her.
The others have not drawn blood they peck her pull feathers but nothing as severe as yours.
Mine free range and she’s often by herself which I guess cuts down on the abuse.
If I were you I’d let her heal up. I’d watch very closely when you try to put her back to see if we have similar situations. My hen is my husbands favorite and we have talked about it. We both know she’s not right. And if life gets too terrible for her we’ll cull her. I truly wish I had a concrete answer for you. If you only have one bully then that’s something fairly easy to deal with.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would try to give her some vitamins—400 IU of E, some thiamine or B1, and a bit of egg for selenium. Thiamine is found in a lot of foods, such as liver, hamburger, salmon, sunflower and sesame seeds, and plain yogurt. B complex, nutritional yeast, and chicken vitamins also have them. Her movements in the video look a bit like wry neck with her neck twisting to the left, and backing up. Wry neck is just a neurological symptom, and can be seen with a head injury, a vitamin E or thiamine deficiency, in certain diseases (such as Mareks and others,) that affect the brain, and it can be hereditary in some chicks.

 

[MissChick@dee]

I would try to give her some vitamins—400 IU of E, some thiamine or B1, and a bit of egg for selenium. Thiamine is found in a lot of foods, such as liver, hamburger, salmon, sunflower and sesame seeds, and plain yogurt. B complex, nutritional yeast, and chicken vitamins also have them. Her movements in the video look a bit like wry neck with her neck twisting to the left, and backing up. Wry neck is just a neurological symptom, and can be seen with a head injury, a vitamin E or thiamine deficiency, in certain diseases (such as Mareks and others,) that affect the brain, and it can be hereditary in some chicks.

 

[sagehound]

The biggest concern is food. Her behaviors were off from about 4 months of age. The day I threw out mealworms and she acted like she couldn’t see them is when I started noticing...and finding all the problems.
She has gotten worse as she gets older.
Is your hen underweight? Feel light?
Mine would peck but not eat as if she couldn’t see. I counted once and she pecked at a sunflower seed 19 times. She often would get frustrated at mealworms and walk away. Very not normal.
My hen will spend 20-30 minutes at the feeder. So I crated her one day to actually monitor what she was eating. She’s gotten better at taking things from my fingers. The palm was easy for her. There’s no competition at my feeder so she eats feed as she pleases...she just misses a lot. The others pick on her but my run is spacious 200sq ft for 4 birds. There’s perches and many other things she can jump up on and get out of the way. I personally feed her twice a day. She’s gotten better at pecking/eating but her backing up episodes have escalated and gotten much worse. She’ll tuck her beak down to her chest shake her head as if something is stuck on her beak and run full force until she runs into something or I shout her name. I don’t know where things will lead with her.
The others have not drawn blood they peck her pull feathers but nothing as severe as yours.
Mine free range and she’s often by herself which I guess cuts down on the abuse.
If I were you I’d let her heal up. I’d watch very closely when you try to put her back to see if we have similar situations. My hen is my husbands favorite and we have talked about it. We both know she’s not right. And if life gets too terrible for her we’ll cull her. I truly wish I had a concrete answer for you. If you only have one bully then that’s something fairly easy to deal with.

Thank you for your response. I noticed this behavior with her about 1 month ago. I'm new to chickens so I didn't think much of it but did notice that none of the other chickens did it. I have two dorkings and they both spend a lot of time at the feeders. I will have a good opportunity to monitor her eating while she is in the crate. I have plenty of roosts that she can jump on in the run if she needs to. I will continue to monitor her and when I put her back in with the others I will watch closely. She's only 7 months old. Thank you again!

 

[sagehound]

I would try to give her some vitamins—400 IU of E, some thiamine or B1, and a bit of egg for selenium. Thiamine is found in a lot of foods, such as liver, hamburger, salmon, sunflower and sesame seeds, and plain yogurt. B complex, nutritional yeast, and chicken vitamins also have them. Her movements in the video look a bit like wry neck with her neck twisting to the left, and backing up. Wry neck is just a neurological symptom, and can be seen with a head injury, a vitamin E or thiamine deficiency, in certain diseases (such as Mareks and others,) that affect the brain, and it can be hereditary in some chicks.

Thank you. I will add that to her diet. I do give them sunflower seeds and since they don't free range I give them a variety of foods to change it up. since I will be feeding her separate it will be a good opportunity for me to watch her and give her some of these additional things and make sure she eats them.

 

[MissChick@dee]

I wish you and your lil hen the best that I can. I just try to make the best for my lil girl. If it makes a difference I feel the heaviness of your heart. Mine is the sweetest bird ever and beloved but there is something genetically wrong with her. It’s not like you caused anything you did nothing wrong. Why it happens I’ll never know. Thank you so much for sharing. As odd as the situation is perhaps there is someone out there that will learn perhaps this happens more than we know. Just because they are different doesn’t mean we love them less. Best wishes

 

[sagehound]

I wish you and your lil hen the best that I can. I just try to make the best for my lil girl. If it makes a difference I feel the heaviness of your heart. Mine is the sweetest bird ever and beloved but there is something genetically wrong with her. It’s not like you caused anything you did nothing wrong. Why it happens I’ll never know. Thank you so much for sharing. As odd as the situation is perhaps there is someone out there that will learn perhaps this happens more than we know. Just because they are different doesn’t mean we love them less. Best wishes

Thank you so much. I can't tell you how much your words mean to me. As a first time chicken owner it means a lot to have someone understand and also confirm that I haven't hurt her. She is so sweet and I am hopeful that she will be ok. I really appreciate your help and support. Best wishes to you as well.