Chicken bullies

Chickadee55

Songster
9 Years
Nov 17, 2010
193
2
106
Central Florida
One of my hens has been injured. I'm not sure by what, but the other hens keep viciously attacking her now. I keep her in a large plastic storage box with wire on the top to keep them away from her. Is this normal chicken behavior and am I going to have to keep her away from them from now on?
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What type of injury and how long ago did it happen? Could it have been caused by the others?

If it's very noticeable to the others they'll peck at it and make it worse. Using Blukote on the area will hide it from curious beaks until it's healed. Also with being separated from the flock but still in plain site she's now the low hen on the pecking order or viewed as an outsider. My suggestion would be make sure to return her to the flock at night when everyone else is roosting once she's healed enough. You'll need to watch them the following morning to make sure integration goes okay.
 
There was a wound on her head and around her left eye. When I let her heal for a couple of days and let her out with the flock, she was attacked immediately now the head wound is bigger. I've had her back in the tub for about a week. My chickens free range in the daytime so they are not confined when I open the coop in the a.m. but they will chase her down to attack.
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Let her heal completely then apply integration techniques....
...adding them back in the dark often doesn't go well.
Like bobbie-j sez "chickens aren't the brightest animals on this planet, but they're not that stupid."
So beware.

She has been away from flock for even a few days, they don't 'remember' her.

Read up on integration..... BYC advanced search>titles only>integration
This is good place to start reading:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/adding-to-your-flock
 

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