chickens pecking the newest BADDLY!! now what?

[devin mctaggart]

we have five hens and one rooster and i bought a new hen. we kept it by itself for a while to make sure it was ok and all. then put the baby chicken (about five moths old. she is an americano/buff mix) in with the other chickens. the first day i put the baby in with the other hens and stayed to supervise. it didnt go very well, but not terrible, but i was there to make sure it didnt. the next night we put the baby in at night well the rest of the hens were sleeping and it seemed to go ok. the first day the baby seemed scared so i took her for a walk lol. but after that it seemed to be going ok. that was about 10 days ago. last night my husband came home and went out to the hen house and couldnt find the baby so started looking for her. she had herself squeezed into i tiny corner of the fence and one of the chickens pecked half the side on her face off, and we are pretty sure her eye is gone. so we have her in a cage by herself in the garage hoping that she will get better. if she dose what do i do?!!? will it be ok to put her in with the other chickens again? how would be the best way to do that!

 

[sourland]

If she is indeed blind in one eye it will most likely be impossible to integrate her into the flock. Her weakness will make her an even easier target.

 

[devin mctaggart]

ok

 

[sourland]

Try healing her up and then introduce the most mild mannered hen to her. If that works in several days add another of the more mellow hens to her. Continue on until all have been introduced. Good luck. The social order of chickens is not very kind.

 

[ImissBuford]

I'm new to this site, but grew up raising chickens. This advice may seem a bit odd, and has only worked for me personally, and I can not guarantee it will work for you, as I do not know the exact details of your situation.

Make sure there are no visible wounds, scabs, infections, etc, on the wounded hen....The others will even pick at at tiny scab upon another bird. Not so much out of desire to harm her, but seeing something amiss....They are curious critters.

Also evaluate if your chickens are overcrowded, and may need more space.

Lastly, even blind in one eye your chicken can be integrated into a flock, and live a long happy life. ( get some antibiotic on those wounds)

Chickens REALLY know "pecking order"....You can teach your flock that this hen is not to be messed with.

Baby her, while she is healing, hold her while standing up, elevated from the rest of your birds, and feed her meal worms, and special treats right in front of the others, and let every one of your flock see it.....Don't give the others a single treat, and shoo them away in an aggressive manner, when they try to get in on the action.

Take her out everyday, and shower her with special attention, LET THE OTHERS SEE IT....But don't integrate her back into the flock.

It may take weeks...but then do the same thing, and let her walk around free range with the other birds, be her protector, and do not tolerate any aggressive behavior towards her. If another bird in your flock warms up, and is kind to her, reward that bird, and only that bird with the same treats.

It takes alot of time, you may not be able to invest, but YOU are "The cock of the walk," with your flock, and if you let them know that bird is not to be messed with, they will follow your lead.

I was even able to integrate a seriously wounded rooster into a flock of 40+ with other roosters.....Even " Big Red " the alpha rooster never bothered him.

However, once integrated don't let your wounded baby become a bully herself....She may deserve an occasional beat down.

Once again, this takes a lot of time, and you really have to know your flock, and know your chickens, but if you want to do it, it can be done.

I hope this helps.

 

[ImissBuford]

Post Script.....It also helps to deny any treats to the rest of your flock for a long time....Even deny them free range.

But let the others see your wounded bird, IS being free ranged, with YOUR constant protection ( Like walking your dog )

As you slowly integrate her, and let her come face to face with your flock, if they show no signs of aggression towards her, hold some meal worms in your hand between the legs of your hen, lower than your hen, for the others to eat, while she towers above them, in your arms.

Try to associate her presence as being a good one for them......(i.e.) they only get treats when SHE is around....OR the treats are coming from HER....But always let her eat first, protect her, and make a blatant show of it for the others to see.

I could go on for ever, but that's chicken psychology 101....LOL

 

[KimKimWilliamso]

Love the advice of the above poster!
I work with dogs professionally, and similar concepts work on dogs too. If you think like a chicken, act like a chicken, you ARE a chicken and they will treat like one of the flock. This is awesome as long as your acting like the head of the flock!

 

[MadHens]

Sounds like great advice to me too, ImissBuford. I did something similar when we got a rescue dog and she was growling at my 3-yr-old child at the time. I didn't want to rehome the dog, but I also couldn't put my daughter in harm's way, so I quickly let the dog know that she was not the alpha! I didn't allow her on any furniture, and wouldn't let her sit in my lap if my daughter was around. I let my daughter give her treats, etc. It worked, and we've had our dog for 7 years now! Good luck with your hen; hope she heals well!

 

[easteregger96]

I agree! When I get new girls, I always put them in a place where the others can see her but can't get to her. And, she gets special treatment. I usually do that for a few weeks. I also have a great hen. Her name is Red. She is a New Hampshire Red. She is the top chick of one of my flocks. She usually adopts any newcomers. She shows them where the food and water is and keeps the others from being mean to the new one. She also doesn't tolerate any fighting in the flock. If there is any fighting or un needed pecking she's right on top of it. When we had our baby chicks, she babysat all the time. I hope you find a solution to the problem. Maybe you will get lucky and one of your hens might take the new one under her wing.

 

[ImissBuford]

right on spot kimkim...Dogs or chickens, they sure know alpha.
The thing is with backyard chicken hosts, is study the psychology of your birds. learn your birds, and their personalities.
You will always find an "alpha"....Male, or female.
You can manipulate that animal psychology.
You do not need to tolerate or accept one animal's torture, or abuses of another.
Chicken culture can be cruel. That's life.
But as "Cock of the walk" in YOUR backyard flock, YOU have the final say.

Now I come from a farm mentality, and this may be different from suburban back yards, but the basics are still the same.
Raise, love, and care for your birds,don't expect your birds to eat food You would not eat.
Don't expect your flock to drink water you would not drink yourself.

And if you would not be willing to sleep in a box full of crap, then don't expect good results if you make your animals sleep in a box full of crap.

It's as simple as that....It's actually that easy.

Fresh water, Don't crowd me.....Fresh clean feed....and don't make me sleep in my own excrement.

It's that simple.