chickens picking on one hen

[bosoxbratt]

Thank you all
I have them all out and about some of the hens went after her but after a while she charged after a couple of them she still seems kind of shy as some approach her but this seemed to work so far we will see
Thanks again for all the ideas

 

[Kdss]

Did you have any solution? I have a beautiful Australorp who sat on a clutch of eggs last April and has been odd hen out ever since. This week her feathers finally began to burst forth again, she was covered in pin feathers, and I thought finally she wouldn't be bald any more. About 6 days into her feather burst, all of a sudden they attacked her and ate off all the new feathers and then some. They are all molting and they have PLENTY of protein. Trying to decide to rehome her or get rid of the two meanest ones. ( A RIR and Ameracauna)

 

[Nuttz]

How long should u keep them locked up till letting them back I'm with the flock?

 

[Nkraft]

I have had the same problem with my flock, not once, but twice. The first time this happened, I re homed her and she seems fine, however it is happening again, and isolation is not an option for me, the head of the flock leaves her be, so i don't understand this. I am going to see if they eventually work it out, because she is never missing any feathers, and they don't seem to be injuring her, just being mean and picking on her, but like I said earlier, the hen at the top of the pecking order leaves her be, and never picks on her, so I don't understand their behavior.

 

[RichnSteph]

Same issue here. Our SLW came to us missing feathers after being beat up at her old home. She was doing great until she bruised her foot and developed a limp. After that she was getting beat up a lot, so much so that she would stick her head under the coop while the rest of the hens pecked her on the back and shoulders. She now lives inside with the people and dogs and will remain there until she has all her feathers back and has put on a few pounds. Being featherless, limping and weighing about half what she should made her an easy target. Come spring I hope she can integrate back with the group. If not then I'm going to isolate the rooster and the top hen for a few weeks and see how they like it.


RichnSteph

 

[TheDoyles]

I do not have an answer for you but I am hoping someone does...we have the same issue and our hens are the same age! They just over 2 yrs old and they are picking on another hen, the one that is getting picked on is skinny and I've noticed that her stool is runny/watery....I'm wondering if she is sick either because they are picking her or is that the reason they are picking on her.....not sure what to do....hubby and I built a separate coop just in case we have to separate her.

 

[yochickiemomma]

Soooo I have a similar Issue. I have a EE that's been picked on so bad That they picked about a 2-3 inch round spot of skin right off her back. I was so mad I wanted to cull my whole flock. I have since then thinned them out. I'm down to 9 hens including her and no more roosters. She's on the mend and only has a small scab left right above her tail. She's so passive she just let them do that to her. She's also been picked on since shorty after she got her feathers but nothing as bad as what happened about three weeks ago. Now that she's better I have let her free range with the other 8 hens a couple times but she runs away from them when they chase her. She has her own hut right now (old wire rabbit cage w/ a perch and a nesting box if it gets chilly). I'm at a loss as to what to do with her once she is fully healed. My husband thinks I should rehome her but I don't think that'll stop the pecking and I will NOT eat her. She loves to cluck at me when I talk to her. Obviously I'm quite attached. Do I try to convince him to let me build her her own coop and try to find her a friend? Winters not that far away in northern MI and I don't want her to freeze.

 

[yochickiemomma]

She's the one on the right. This pic was taken a few months ago.

 

[Peeps61]

Well, I would not mix her with the others until she is fully healed. Once blood is drawn, it becomes ugly. If you can build her something where she can be warm and find her a friend, I think that might be the answer - at least until she is fully healed up.

 

[RichnSteph]

Not sure if you can go the same route we did but our SLW that spent the winter in the house with us due to being constantly beat up was reintroduced to the flock in the spring and she's since become the top hen. No one messes with her. We actually had her in a small rubber tub at night, fed her fermented feed and any BSF that harvested during the cold months and took her out for supervised exercise during the day. She still looks like heck but she's the favorite of our dominant and non-dominant roosters.