Chicken not bonding with flock

[sueronan]

I have a 7 month old pullet that was hatched out by one of my Cochin hens last summer. Out of 3 eggs she was the only one to successfully hatch. She spent a month or two with her "mother" and then I took her out to my barn to intergrate her with the other chickens. She has never really become part of the flock. No one picks on her (that I have seen) but she just keeps to herself. Anyways, this morning I went out and she was sitting on the ground just below where she was roosting the night before. I picked her up and she barely responded, seemed lethargic and I realized she is quite thin. I have put her in a heated part of the barn with her own food and water for now but am not sure how to proceed. I don't know why she wouldn't be eating (there are 3 feeding bowls among 17 chickens) could she be intimidated or depressed because she has no particular buddy?

 

[ChickenGoesRuff]

I had a chicken do the same thing. She was a smaller hen and suddenly became lethargic, stopped eating, and looked as though she'd given up, even though she was with the same chickens she'd been with since chickhood. I ended up putting her in a large wire dog crate in my garage. I hand fed her treats (To encourage eating) and made her her own food mix (crushed layer pellets, chick starter, plain yogurt, mashed fruit, and oatmeal mixed up together). She began eating well and drinking a lot more, although since I didn't bring her buddy with she became stressed when I would leave and stop eating again. I tried pairing her with another bird but she cowered and ran towards me. I ended up sending her to the butcher with my meat flock because she was just so miserable. If you take her into a separate pen, take out the most submissive chicken you have and put them together to ease the anxiety of being alone and give her a pal when she goes back. Feeding treats chicken enjoys mixed in with regular food should encourage it to eat more.
Hope it helps!

 

[sueronan]

Thanks for your suggestion. I will give it a try,