Head injury and reintegration

[1stxchickmama]

Hi all!

We have 3 chickens that are about 4 months old. They have all been together since day 1 and have gotten along until this past weekend. We came home to 1 of the girls with her head badly pecked at, defeathered and bleeding. We have separated her from the other 2, used blue kote and a vitamin water that was recommended. She is in much better spirits now.
My concern is reintegration with the other 2. Yesterday we sat in the coop with all the chickens and the alpha immediately went to peck at her head. The other one wasn't interested in her at all. We have been keeping them separated into 2 different sections of the coop and bring the injured one in at night and let the other 2 stay in the coop. So, they can see each other all day. They all sit at the door that separates them like they want to be together but then the alpha pecks at her head if they are together.
The guy at the feed store said keep them separated until she is fully healed and even then reintegration can be hard because she will be the "new" one in the coop. Any suggestions or advice on any of this situation would be much appreciated. We were thinking of letting the injured one and mellow one go together and see how that goes. Thoughts?

 

[coach723]

Which ever chicken is removed is the "new" one at integration. If the injured bird's head is healed enough that it's not a pecking risk (wounds are a strong pecking attraction) then I would put her with the non-aggressive one and separate the 'bully'. If she needs more time to heal, then I'd wait a bit before trying as reopening the wound would not be good. I usually separate them (bullies) out of sight of the flock, a large dog crate works well for this. Then re-integrate that one slowly and see how it goes, with supervision so you can step in if necessary. Try separating for a few days, and if she goes right back at it, try separating for longer. You may have to experiment with time. Pecking order spats should be quick and over, and not be murderous. This will sometimes work to reset the pecking order and eventually calm things down. Also, make sure they have adequate room to get away from each other. Just like people, they have likes and dislikes, and need space between them. If you can increase the space they have and provide things to hide behind it also may help (just make sure there is nothing that can trap or corner them, which would make it worse). Also adding a feeder and waterer may help so they can access food away from each other without direct competition.

 

[1stxchickmama]

Thank you for the quick reply. We are going to separate the bully (Buttonwillow) today and see if that helps with her being so bossy! We just added onto their hen house and tripled their space. We added an extra feeder and water. We also added items for them to "play" with or perch on and hide behind. Thanks for all the advice!