Help: new injured chicken being picked on by the rest of the flock.

[tuesdaylove]

I have a bit of an emergency here and I'd appreciate all the help I can get! I just now rescued a chicken from one of the neighbors. This chicken is of unknown age and gender, and the owners said that it's a White Leghorn but I'm not sure of this. The chicken has some injuries, a few spots where the feathers are gone and the skin is raw, one of his ears is bleeding, and he's awfully skinny and is currently gulping down food as if he's never eaten before.

I tried putting him in with the rest of my flock, which consists of one standard-sized pullet and five bantams, two of which are cockerels. As soon as I sat the new chicken down, everyone else started picking on him and one of my bantam roos grabbed his comb and started pulling and wouldn't let go, causing him more injury. See, I got this chicken as a friend for Darcy, my standard bird, because she was recently separated from the bantams and I thought she might like a friend, but even she hates him! What in the world is going on?

And please, can someone tell me if this chicken is a boy or a girl? Again, I have no idea how old he/she is, but I tried to get pictures from some different angles.

 

[Ourfamilyflock]

I cant speak for the sex, but get some blueKote or other like medicine on the wounds. Chickens cant help themselves but going after an injury if its red, or open. The sprays both taste bad to the chickens, protect the color and help heal, if the chickens try to peck the wounds they will get a nasty taste and they wont likely try it again, but instead go and wipe their beaks off.

Introducing a new bird to a flock is always going to be hard on the new bird. Rarely will this go smoothly without any pecking, the other ones are letting it know its place on the pecking order. However the sprays will help. Hopefully after a few days they will settle down, but you never know.

 

[tuesdaylove]

I cant speak for the sex, but get some blueKote or other like medicine on the wounds. Chickens cant help themselves but going after an injury if its red, or open. The sprays both taste bad to the chickens, protect the color and help heal, if the chickens try to peck the wounds they will get a nasty taste and they wont likely try it again, but instead go and wipe their beaks off.

Introducing a new bird to a flock is always going to be hard on the new bird. Rarely will this go smoothly without any pecking, the other ones are letting it know its place on the pecking order. However the sprays will help. Hopefully after a few days they will settle down, but you never know.

Thank you, if I decide to keep it then I'll get him some of that medicine.

If it's a rooster then I can't keep it, I already have a huge problem with my two bantam roosters because they're starting to fight and I don't have enough hens for them so I need to get rid of one of them.

 

[mmktdox]

Looks like a hen to me. She needs to be kept separate for awhile from your flock, this is not only to protect her from being picked on but also to ensure you're not exposing your existing flock to new parasites or illness. The wounds could use some neosporin (not the type with pain relief) and she could probably use some vitamins or at least lots of treats like scrambled eggs, yogurt etc to get her strength back, since she seems so hungry! I would quarantine her for a couple of weeks in a dog kennel until you're sure she's not carrying lice or mites etc, then put the kennel along side your run so the other's can get used to her while still providing some safety for her. After a few days of this you can try introducing her to the flock.

You can't introduce an injured stranger into your flock and not have her beat up, it's just the way they behave.

Good luck with the "new girl" !

 

[cafarmgirl]

It never goes well to just pop a lone new bird into the coop/run. That is a guaranteed attack by the existing birds. I personally would have kept this bird quarantined for a couple weeks before putting it near the others.

To integrate I usually fence off part of the run for the new bird for a while. This lets everybody get used to seeing it in the run, in their space, but they can't fight. At night the new bird sleeps in a wire dog crate inside the coop. Again so they can see it but not attack. I do this until everybody settles down about it and then I'll try putting them together. Free ranging together is also a good way to help integrate. It's always easier of course if there is more then one new bird, it can be really hard to get them to accept a single newbie. Especially once they've got it in their head they need to attack! There will always be some scuffles at first when the new bird does finally join the flock, you just have to watch carefully at first that it doesn't get out of hand. Good luck!

 

[tuesdaylove]

Thank you all for the advice. The problem is that I can't let my birds free-range, I'm surrounded by very busy highways very close to the house and there's loads of predators around, including a pack of coyotes that come into the yard at least five times a day. And again, if it's a rooster then I can't keep it. The person I got it from has a lot more White Leghorns, including some that are definitely hens and are bigger and stronger, so she might let me switch the chickens.

 

[GrandmaChickie]

I thought you "rescued" this particular chicken. But now you're going to switch it out for a different chicken? I'm not sure I understand. I do know that trying to introduce one bird into an established flock is always going to create tension and result in fights until the pecking order is established. The advice in previous posts about integrating new birds would still apply.

 

[tuesdaylove]

I thought you "rescued" this particular chicken. But now you're going to switch it out for a different chicken? I'm not sure I understand. I do know that trying to introduce one bird into an established flock is always going to create tension and result in fights until the pecking order is established. The advice in previous posts about integrating new birds would still apply.

Well, I went over to someone's house and I intended to get a fully grown hen to go with Darcy, but then I saw this particular chicken and I felt bad for him and made an impulse decision. I'm sure that if I take him back, he'll be stronger and therefore healthier and happier with the other chickens.