Chicken bullies

[cmk1026]

Because you all have been so helpful b4, I am back for more advise. One one my chickens was attacked by a bob cat a month or so ago there was no wounds she just had trouble standing and walking. She can now stand on her own and is a bit wobbly but gets around. I put her back in with the others and they are picking on her pretty bad, should I intervene? I feel so bad☹

 

[Grits&Eggs]

Well, they go back to the bottom of the pecking order, so it may just be a couple days before she will be back into the group. Sorry about the attack - glad she survived!

 

[ChickNanny13]

You need to integrate her back after being separated ... Put her in a wire cage with food/water and put it in with the flock ... See but no touch. You need to remove her & integrate slow.

 

[sourland]

Monitor closely checking to see that she gets to eat and drink and that blood is not being drawn, The pecking order is not kind. If one or two particular birds are making life miserable for her try removing THEM from the flock for a period of time - days, not hours. Good luck in resolving this.

 

[cmk1026]

Well, they go back to the bottom of the pecking order, so it may just be a couple days before she will be back into the group. Sorry about the attack - glad she survived!

Thank you!

 

[cmk1026]

You need to integrate her back after being separated ... Put her in a wire cage with food/water and put it in with the flock ... See but no touch. You need to remove her & integrate slow.

I was thinking of doing this, might have to try it.

 

[cmk1026]

Monitor closely checking to see that she gets to eat and drink and that blood is not being drawn, The pecking order is not kind. If one or two particular birds are making life miserable for her try removing THEM from the flock for a period of time - days, not hours. Good luck in resolving this.

She is eating, and drinking. That is my concern they are pulling her feathers out and she is bleeding a little bit. UGH! I might try removing them, see what happens. Thanks!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She can now stand on her own and is a bit wobbly but gets around. I put her back in with the others and they are picking on her pretty bad, should I intervene? I feel so bad☹

She is eating, and drinking. That is my concern they are pulling her feathers out and she is bleeding a little bit. UGH! I might try removing them, see what happens. Thanks!

You may want to cage her inside the coop or run - use a see-but-don't-touch approach. You don't mention your location, so consideration of your current weather conditions would be needed as well.

She's not been part of the flock for some time now, so she is an interloper/stranger. Doesn't sound like she has a lot of strength to defend herself either, so a slow introduction is probably needed.
You can try removing the bullies, but...once you put them back, they probably will take up where they left off. Chickens are not always nice to each other.

Do you have photos of your setup - how much space do you have? Is fencing off a small section doable in your run? If it is, once she is next to the flock for a few days, take one of your most docile friendly hens and put them together - monitor them. Let her have a buddy for short periods of time. You want her to have interactions, but you don't want to stress the "buddy" with long separations - make sense?

Sometimes you have to try quite few different things. Having patience is going to be important. One thing may work for me, while it's a disaster for someone else.
Keep us posted and we'll help you try to figure this out.
Here's good article about introducing a single hen to the flock:
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/introducing-a-single-hen-to-an-existing-flock

 

[cmk1026]

You may want to cage her inside the coop or run - use a see-but-don't-touch approach. You don't mention your location, so consideration of your current weather conditions would be needed as well.

She's not been part of the flock for some time now, so she is an interloper/stranger. Doesn't sound like she has a lot of strength to defend herself either, so a slow introduction is probably needed.
You can try removing the bullies, but...once you put them back, they probably will take up where they left off. Chickens are not always nice to each other.

Do you have photos of your setup - how much space do you have? Is fencing off a small section doable in your run? If it is, once she is next to the flock for a few days, take one of your most docile friendly hens and put them together - monitor them. Let her have a buddy for short periods of time. You want her to have interactions, but you don't want to stress the "buddy" with long separations - make sense?

Sometimes you have to try quite few different things. Having patience is going to be important. One thing may work for me, while it's a disaster for someone else.
Keep us posted and we'll help you try to figure this out.
Here's good article about introducing a single hen to the flock:
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/introducing-a-single-hen-to-an-existing-flock

Thank you (all) for the thoughtful responses, I am in New England so the weather is cold and will be getting snowy soon. My coop is a small one that fits 4 chickens if all closed off but because they are only in there at night and there is ample amount of space outside, I have a few more (can never just have 2 . My girls have a fenced in area ( my garden) that they have access to during the fall, winter and spring. To put a cage in the coop with her in it probably would not work out too well and I did not want to leave her in the basement too much longer. For fear of her getting used to the warm air, my coop is not heated.

It took a few days but they finally are laving her alone. She is drinking and eating... she looks good except for the missing feathers. I will watch them for awhile on the weekend to see what is going on. But for now THANK YOU for the suggestions and support. Sometimes I just need to hear it from other people.