Hi all,
First, thanks for having a read. We've done a bit of research, and are still be a bit stumped about what to do.
As a bit of background first, we have a flock of 6 chickens, all about 2 years old. They've always gotten on fine (except the introduction of 2 to the original 4). They're in an enclosure that's about 45 square metres. Plenty of space, lots of perches and bushes etc for stimulation. They're given scratch often to keep them busy, and have generally seemed like happy birds. Well, most of the time, we have a little one called Esme that's not much bigger than a bantam. She was one of the new 2, and never really fit in. The boss hen has always had it in for her, and tries to what I can only describe as mate with her. I can only assume this is something to do with dominance. She's also been broody a couple of times. Esme has always been a loner because of this, and definitely at the bottom of the pecking order.
Now onto the hen with an issue. Our little brown girl (Nugget) has had a few incidents of egg-boundness from early days. She's the only one that ever any health issues, but after a few days looking worse for wear (loafing a lot, absorbing her neck into her body when walking around, being a bit unsociable with the other girls, not interested in food/grain, getting quite light and loosing colour in her comb), she's always bounced back.
A about a month ago she seemed to be going through another lull. We did the usual, and after about a week she did seem to go back to normal. This was a little longer than normal, but not a huge amount so didn't think too much of it. Her bounce back was only temporary though, and within a few days she was back to being down. We tried the usual bits (nutrient drink, mash, diatomaceous earth, dark space for resting) and she didn't seem inherently ill (followed all the checks and advice for the above mentioned symptoms) and she eventually came back around, but now is absolutely hated by all the other girls. We assumed this was because she was ill, but she's now back to full health, and is tormented for it.
She is actively chased down by the whole group, the lowest in the group (Esme) being one of the worst offenders. They chase her, pin her to the ground, and peck at her head. It's brutal to watch. She's never been away from the flock, so although I could be wrong, I don't think its that the others don't recognise her. She's running around almost making Guinea pig noises (Esme did this when kicked out of the coop whilst being broody) which seem to trigger a beating from the group. There isn't ever one individual leading it, so we can't isolate the bully. We don't really know what to do. Its gotten so bad (feathers plucked, bald patch behind her comb that's been pecked to blood, bloody comb etc) that we have had to remove her from the group and free range in the garden just for her own safety. We have put her back in the coop at bedtime, but tonight she got chased out of the coop, pinned down, and attacked by the whole group.
Right now, we're looking to get another coop with small run to put her in with the group so they can still see her, and almost reintroduce her. Has anyone had any issues like this? Before this we were considering 4 more chickens very soon, and are maybe thinking this could also be a good way to reintroduce Nugget at the same time?
I've tried to be as detailed as possible, but let me know if there's any further info you want from me, and thank you for any advice you can give
First, thanks for having a read. We've done a bit of research, and are still be a bit stumped about what to do.
As a bit of background first, we have a flock of 6 chickens, all about 2 years old. They've always gotten on fine (except the introduction of 2 to the original 4). They're in an enclosure that's about 45 square metres. Plenty of space, lots of perches and bushes etc for stimulation. They're given scratch often to keep them busy, and have generally seemed like happy birds. Well, most of the time, we have a little one called Esme that's not much bigger than a bantam. She was one of the new 2, and never really fit in. The boss hen has always had it in for her, and tries to what I can only describe as mate with her. I can only assume this is something to do with dominance. She's also been broody a couple of times. Esme has always been a loner because of this, and definitely at the bottom of the pecking order.
Now onto the hen with an issue. Our little brown girl (Nugget) has had a few incidents of egg-boundness from early days. She's the only one that ever any health issues, but after a few days looking worse for wear (loafing a lot, absorbing her neck into her body when walking around, being a bit unsociable with the other girls, not interested in food/grain, getting quite light and loosing colour in her comb), she's always bounced back.
A about a month ago she seemed to be going through another lull. We did the usual, and after about a week she did seem to go back to normal. This was a little longer than normal, but not a huge amount so didn't think too much of it. Her bounce back was only temporary though, and within a few days she was back to being down. We tried the usual bits (nutrient drink, mash, diatomaceous earth, dark space for resting) and she didn't seem inherently ill (followed all the checks and advice for the above mentioned symptoms) and she eventually came back around, but now is absolutely hated by all the other girls. We assumed this was because she was ill, but she's now back to full health, and is tormented for it.
She is actively chased down by the whole group, the lowest in the group (Esme) being one of the worst offenders. They chase her, pin her to the ground, and peck at her head. It's brutal to watch. She's never been away from the flock, so although I could be wrong, I don't think its that the others don't recognise her. She's running around almost making Guinea pig noises (Esme did this when kicked out of the coop whilst being broody) which seem to trigger a beating from the group. There isn't ever one individual leading it, so we can't isolate the bully. We don't really know what to do. Its gotten so bad (feathers plucked, bald patch behind her comb that's been pecked to blood, bloody comb etc) that we have had to remove her from the group and free range in the garden just for her own safety. We have put her back in the coop at bedtime, but tonight she got chased out of the coop, pinned down, and attacked by the whole group.
Right now, we're looking to get another coop with small run to put her in with the group so they can still see her, and almost reintroduce her. Has anyone had any issues like this? Before this we were considering 4 more chickens very soon, and are maybe thinking this could also be a good way to reintroduce Nugget at the same time?
I've tried to be as detailed as possible, but let me know if there's any further info you want from me, and thank you for any advice you can give
