Daughter's hen at fair for week others forgot it, hurting it!UPDATE p2

[lceh]

We keep 8 banty hens in a chicken tractor. They are 4 mos. old and were raised together. Last week my first-grader entered her MF D'uccle in the county fair. She was so excited when we picked Milly up today and she had two ribbons. Then we put her back in the tractor and the other hens ganged up on her. I really think they might have killed her given the chance. Obviously they do not remember her. We got her out and put her in the cat carrier we used to take her to the fair, put a water bottle on it, and put the whole thing in the tractor so they could see her but not hurt her. Now what?! It's warm enough we can leave her in the cat carrier tonight when the others go in to roost, but we can't leave her in there forever! I'm really scared my daughter will go out there one morning and find Milly dead and half-eaten by the other hens. How can we successfully re-integrate this one hen? Unfortunately she's the smallest of the bantams, so she's even more vulnerable, especially when the Barred Rock and Buff Brahma bantams go after her. I've heard of people sneaking new hens into a hen house when the others are roosting, the theory being that in the morning they smell familiar. I would try that, but I'm so scared of my daughter finding carnage when she goes to let them out in the morning.

Would it work if I took a couple more of the less agressive girls out, kept all 3 in a dog crate for a few days, and then re-introduced them all at once? Or would that just put 3 of our chickens at risk instead of 1?

If I had known the other hens would do this we NEVER would have taken Milly away for so long

. The fair was such a happy experience for my daughter, but to end it with Milly being severely injured or even killed would ruin it all. Please help!

 

[Mahonri]

I think you are doing just right... and I didn't think chickens could smell?

Anyway.... continue to nurse her back to health first, then one night put her on the roost in the dark. In the AM be out there before they get up and watch.... you may have to do it on a weekend. If they start beating her up again, pull her out... also it wouldn't hurt for you to have a broom stick to move the bullies away from her. If they know they are going to be poked if they touch her that may stop them.

Good luck.

 

[Sillystunt]

so sorry! They must be jealous

maybe slide her in at night, once she is better~

Good luck and tell your daughter CONGRATS

 

[lceh]

Well, I don't think she was really injured this time other than losing a few feathers, because we got her out really quickly. Maybe tomorrow night I can try the roost method, but I'm pretty nervous about it....What time would they start picking on her if they were going to, at daybreak? The food's kept in the henhouse too, so that gives them something else to be jealous over in the morning.

Once they're outside, would squirting the meanies with a hose when they pick on her work? Of course she might get wet too, but it'd be easier than the stick method since it's hard for us to get inside the tractor.

Is it true that chickens can't smell? Oops! You can tell we're newbies.

 

[jhm47]

Things like this are very common. The hens are just sorting out their "pecking order", and it's perfectly normal. It will happen whether you interfere or not. If they have enough room so that the MF pullet can get away, there is little or no reason to worry. She will likely be pecked on for a few days, and then the others will get used to her.

As far as I know, chickens have a very poor sense of smell.

Hope your little girl enjoys her ribbons, and doesn't let this little hiccup stop her from showing again. Good luck!

 

[lceh]

I guess this is the disadvantage of keeping them in a tractor; there's not a lot of places she can go if they start going after her. There are a couple of roosts. Maybe I should put in a temporary one high enough she can get up there and they can't reach her from below....

 

[Theda's Mom]

Would it be possible to wall off a corner of the tractor for your dd's hen? That way the other girls could see the "stranger" without being able to get at her.

 

[espressola]

Might it not be better to separate her entirely from the others to quarantine her for at least a month and THEN work on reintroducing her? Maybe you could put another friend in with her since she'll probably be miserable all alone... you don't know if she has contracted anything from the other chickens at the fair. I had originally thought it would be fun for my kids to show their chickens at our fair, this is what changed my mind.... congrats on the ribbon, I'm sure things will work out...
Patty N. ;-)

 

[lceh]

Well, we have a very small fair, and the few chickens who were there looked quite healthy, so I was going to take the risk of not quarantining her (especially since I have no easy way to do it!). Yes, I guess this is risky, but I'm willing to accept that. Hopefully I won't regret that decision.

The cat carrier is basically my solution to the wall-off-the-tractor idea. I thought I'd leave her in it for another day, then try putting her in the house when they're sleeping and go out there at daybreak to make sure they don't beat her up when they wake up. This evening she had spilled some of her food and the flock was basically eating with her as they pecked it up, so I hope they're getting reacquainted. I don't mind her getting pecked a little bit, but I really don't want bloodshed!

 

[Emzyyy]

When I put chickens back I put a cage inside the run or coop so they can be together and it stays like that for a couple weeks then I put them back together.