Help Please!!

[Inunokanojo]

I'm still really new to raising chickens and last week something got into my hen house and killed 2 chickens and injured a third. I thought for sure the 3rd one would die of shock by the end of the day but she didn't. When I went to the coop that night to put them up for the evening I had the injured one and all the others in the house but one. I caught the last one and when I opened the hen house door all the other hens attacked the injured one. I got her and took her in the house with me and left the others in the coop as usual. We have a ginormous wire dog crate that I put her in when I'm at work and she wanders around with me in the kitchen and such when I'm home. I tried to take her back to the pen yesterday to see how the others would react and they all attacked her again so she's back in the house. She's doing really well, her wounds scabbed over and healing. Other than scabs and some missing feathers on her neck she's doing great.

So my question is, is there anyway to reintroduce her to the flock in a way that they won't keep attacking her or am I now just the proud owner of a house chicken? *I'll post some pics of her this evening. I'm at work right now and don't have access to my pics.*

 

[DavidKerk]

I'm sure you will be able to reintroduce her eventually. The reason for them attacking her was most likely because she was bloody, and chickens love the color red and pick at almost everything that is that color. I would wait until her wounds are healed and maybe even until her new feathers, chickens love to pick at pinfeathers too, are partly in to reintroduce her to the flock. When she is ready to be reintroduced, do it at night when the other chickens are roosting for the night as they will be calm then and accept her more readily.

 

[Inunokanojo]

Thanks for the advice! That was another question which I forgot to ask, would her feathers grow back in. Glad to know that they will. Also, I'm going to be getting some new chicks soon. Will they need to be introduced similarly when they're old enough to go out or should there not be a problem with just mixing them in?

 

[DavidKerk]

With your new chicks, you can probably just do the same thing. Put them in some night when the birds are roosting, and check in about once a day to make sure there is no bullying to the extent of blood being drawn. Your flock will probably be a little stressed for a day or two as they remake the peking order.