- Dec 2, 2013
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Hi everyone, this is my first post.
We have a lady (Light Sussex) who has been through a very big molt to the point of looking like an oven ready chicken.
She lives with 2 ladies the same age as her (3 yrs old) and 2 youngsters - just under a year old.
She was picked on really badly, mainly by the youngsters, and they were drawing blood causing very bad wounds.
This was making her withdraw and stay inside all the time so we removed her and brought her indoors in a dog cage. She is now fully feathered but is not being accepted by the youngsters who are still laying into her. We have only re-introduced her to the others on the lawn but she runs away and hides - it seems to have had a profound effect on her. The older girls are fine with her in the garden and don't actually bother her at all.
Do you think it would be a good idea to remove the 2 youngsters and place them out of the run in a little house close by and try & get our lady back in? My main concern is that she has gotten used to being in a warmer environment and she's lost a lot of strength in her legs from sitting in a cage all day. She doesn't walk very far before she sits down using her wings for support. We have been giving her pigeon conditioner which she adores and is also eating & drinking fine. She is very withdrawn - do chickens suffer from loneliness & depression? We can't keep her indoors indefinitely and would love for her to rejoin her mates but worried she's not well enough to cope with the temperature change and will she have the strength to roost at night? Ours jump up about 2 foot onto the top of their nesting boxes but don't think she would manage that.
Your thoughts and advice would be most welcome.
We have a lady (Light Sussex) who has been through a very big molt to the point of looking like an oven ready chicken.
She lives with 2 ladies the same age as her (3 yrs old) and 2 youngsters - just under a year old.
She was picked on really badly, mainly by the youngsters, and they were drawing blood causing very bad wounds.
This was making her withdraw and stay inside all the time so we removed her and brought her indoors in a dog cage. She is now fully feathered but is not being accepted by the youngsters who are still laying into her. We have only re-introduced her to the others on the lawn but she runs away and hides - it seems to have had a profound effect on her. The older girls are fine with her in the garden and don't actually bother her at all.
Do you think it would be a good idea to remove the 2 youngsters and place them out of the run in a little house close by and try & get our lady back in? My main concern is that she has gotten used to being in a warmer environment and she's lost a lot of strength in her legs from sitting in a cage all day. She doesn't walk very far before she sits down using her wings for support. We have been giving her pigeon conditioner which she adores and is also eating & drinking fine. She is very withdrawn - do chickens suffer from loneliness & depression? We can't keep her indoors indefinitely and would love for her to rejoin her mates but worried she's not well enough to cope with the temperature change and will she have the strength to roost at night? Ours jump up about 2 foot onto the top of their nesting boxes but don't think she would manage that.
Your thoughts and advice would be most welcome.
