Flock won't allow hen to eat

[pennyJo1960]

try the feeding just her from a small dish hold it so the others cannot chase her off do it a few days then stop see if it has changed

 

[Michplum]

Okay play tag take a dish feed the one let them see it show the favor to other hens

I do chase the other hens off when I see them do it to her, but they don't seem to be taking the hint. Wish I could just sit out there and defend her all day but that's not possible so I've separated her to make sure she can eat. Poor girl.

 

[Michplum]

try the feeding just her from a small dish hold it so the others cannot chase her off do it a few days then stop see if it has changed

So basically show them that she is #1? I'll try anything at this point.

 

[pennyJo1960]

go out 5 minutes let her eat that or cull her as they will starve her may sound mean do not want to

 

[Michplum]

go out 5 minutes let her eat that or cull her as they will starve her may sound mean do not want to

The weird thing is that they do not bother her at all unless she tries to eat. She is in the coop with them all night and is fine. No signs of injury or pecking at all, and during the day if she is just scratching around, dust bathing, etc they pay her no mind.

 

[Chicken Heel]

I had a similar experience with one of my Turken hens last fall when she was going through the molt. She was the lowest hen in the pecking order and one day while I was at work, some or all of the remaining 13 hens pecked almost all of her feathers out. Luckily, I got home before much bleeding had occurred. I quarantined her and she slowly got her feathers and made it through the ordeal. I did not put her back in with the flock and she currently resides with two Golden Comet hens that I took in as strays last spring.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Do you have any sort of containment area you can use? Example, I have a brooder that sits in the run as well as a small covered dog exercise pen. You can use those types of things as safe areas to let her eat in peace. She doesn't have to stay in there all day but usually they like to load up on grub in the morning and then again in afternoon/evening, so those would be appropriate times to put her in a safe area.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I wouldn't necessarily show favoritism. That may cause them to attack her when you aren't around.
Remove half the hens for a couple days.
It is possible that they know she is sick and they want to drive her away or kill her for the well being of the flock. I surmise that based on the description in the first post.

It sounds like they don't free range and have a relatively small pen. If there was enough room, they wouldn't be able to keep her away from all feeders.

 

[Michplum]

I wouldn't necessarily show favoritism. That may cause them to attack her when you aren't around.
Remove half the hens for a couple days.
It is possible that they know she is sick and they want to drive her away or kill her for the well being of the flock. I surmise that based on the description in the first post.

It sounds like they don't free range and have a relatively small pen. If there was enough room, they wouldn't be able to keep her away from all feeders.

They have a pretty large run. There are only 7 hens and the run is 16' X 8'. That's over 18 square feet per hen, so not too small at all.
They used to free range but the foxes have been BAD this year. We lost too many so we built the run for their safety. Haven't lost one since.

 

[Michplum]

Do you have any sort of containment area you can use? Example, I have a brooder that sits in the run as well as a small covered dog exercise pen. You can use those types of things as safe areas to let her eat in peace. She doesn't have to stay in there all day but usually they like to load up on grub in the morning and then again in afternoon/evening, so those would be appropriate times to put her in a safe area.

Yes we do. Our run is separate from our coop, and the coop is raised with a small run area underneath, which is where she has been during the day.
I like your idea and will try it tomorrow. I think if I let her eat for 30 minutes or so morning and afternoon she will be fine. They don't bother her when she drinks luckily, so I don't have to worry about that.