Flock won't allow hen to eat

[Ebony Rose]

All the other 6 hens are chasing her away, not just one. Which one do I take out? I can't tell which is the lead hen.

The hen that all others defer to (submit to) when treats are handed out. The hen that walks up to a favored dust bath, and the occupants get up and leave immediately. The hen in the most favorable location, usually highest roosting spot in the coop. The first one to eat said treats or receive this special treatment is typically the lead hen.

 

[rosemarythyme]

This is probably a dumb question, but here goes. I have a hen or 2 that are dropping thin shell eggs at night on the drop board. I go out after dark to see if Ican figure out where each one is roosting. but never get it right. How do I figure out which hen has the problem, other then quaranteeing them two at a time for a few weeks. Any ideas would be appreciated. I have 15 hens, can subtract two banties, one little rooster, that leaves 12 to try and catch with this problem.

Are all the 12 hens the same breeds, that is, is there difference in egg color to help cut down the number of possibilities?

One thing you can try is dyeing their vents - a smidge of food color is supposed to be a safe way to do it, so as the hens lay the eggs will be colored by the food coloring. By looking at the colors smeared on the broken eggs, that will identify the source.

 

[Ebony Rose]

This is probably a dumb question, but here goes. I have a hen or 2 that are dropping thin shell eggs at night on the drop board. I go out after dark to see if I can figure out where each one is roosting. but never get it right. How do I figure out which hen has the problem, other then quaranteeing them two at a time for a few weeks. Any ideas would be appreciated. I have 15 hens, can subtract two banties, one little rooster, that leaves 12 to try and catch with this problem.

If your girls are just starting their laying career, you might be able to safely ignore the first 3 months of egg and laying oddities, chalking them up to 'working the kinks out'.

Thin shelled eggs can be caused by too much phosphorous in their diet. Sunflower & pumpkin seeds are high in phosphorous, as are whole oats, rice, wheat, beans, lentils and soy.

Thin shelled eggs can also be caused by heat stress, bird age (older hens), saline water (salty water) or mycotoxins (any toxin caused by fungus). How much daylight are they getting a day? What are you feeding them and how much, including treats? What percentage of overall protein are they getting in their daily diet?

 

[Gab1]

Wow this was such a handy response. Didn't know that phosphorous was a problem really appreciated! and some of my tarts are getting quite old!!! I just discovered you can fix a wee bleed in the oviduct with increasing their vitamin K with fresh greens!!! highly successful. Never too old to learn

 

[Jamited]

Poor birdie. I would feed her by hand and let the others see. If they come over and behave then they can have food too but if they're nasty shoo them away. I wear garden gloves when I'm cleaning in the coop and run and if I have to shoo a hen away for any reason they see the glove, but if I'm handling them I remove the gloves so they respond to the kindness of my hands and don't associate the gloves hand with me. I hope you can get her strong again.

 

[Duckfarmer1]

Our shells are hard..no issues..but we keep the shells every week I grind them in a blender and mix them in the feed..I read to do that on here somewhere

 

[EggWalrus]

How do I figure out which hen has the problem, other then quaranteeing them two at a time for a few weeks. Any ideas would be appreciated. I have 15 hens, can subtract two banties, one little rooster, that leaves 12 to try and catch with this problem.

Lipstick or food coloring in the vent of the suspected guilty hens. Use 4 or more different colors, one for each hen. Test 4 hens today, then a different 4 the day after tomorrow.

 

[Fowl Explorer]

I brought in 3 hens one time, and all the other birds hated them and chased them on sight. They never really got over it and I just made sure those three got fed until there were younger ones the next year and then the one remaining of those birds just assumed the "low man" position so they simply had to wait until the others ate and went on about their business. I have an orchard for birds to roam, so there is space for them.