Hen being ruthlessly picked on and injured by rest of flock

[KootenaiRiverChick]

Hi, friends. I need help. I have had a flock of six girls for a year and a half. Last September, I added another seven. Everything was fine up until about two months ago when one of my original girls was horribly picked on one day. I found her huddling in the coop with a badly pecked head that was bloody, a bloody ear and a bloody eye that was swollen shut. I removed her from the coop, cleaned up her wounds and put her in a separate cage for a couple of weeks. Once she was healed, I re-introduced her to the flock but she hasn't been the same since her injuries. She has trouble seeing, I think, and her balance seems a bit off. She is still being picked on and is definitely the lowest in the pecking order now. She has trouble getting to the food and water and the others won't even let her dust bathe. Yesterday I got home late and the girls were in their coop for the night. I found the injured hen to be re-injured, again her head had been pecked badly and was bloody, and it looks like they got her eye again. I have no idea what happened to bring this on and am not sure what to do at this point. Why do hens suddenly decide that they don't like someone? Does anyone have any insight as to what brings that on? I suppose I either have to build a separate facility for her or give her away, right?

 

[Angiebubs]

Can you try to pinpoint who is picking on her and seperate that one out for awhile? Or do you think it is several of them? Do you have blukote to cover the red of the blood/sores? this would help give her time to heal. ALso is there a way to set up barriers in the coop? Areas she can run to and escape if needed? Sometimes jsut being out of sight of the others willget them to leave her alone. I hate it when they do this!!!! I would also watch to see if there are any signs of illness as they can sense a weak chicken.

 

[Fred's Hens]

The flock decides, sometimes, that a member is a weak link for whatever reason.

In my experience it is often hopeless. I'd rather take out the top dogs and segregate them for a while. But often, there is just no adjusting things. For certain, a bird on the lowest of the low, the outcast, the picked on end of the social order simply won't survive this abuse. You will have to decide whether keeping her in a small world at your place is what you can do. Re-homing her may very well result in the same abuse in another flock.

In the chicken world, those perceived to be the weakest links are often killed and eaten. It's what they do, or, at least are quite capable of doing.

 

[KootenaiRiverChick]

Can you try to pinpoint who is picking on her and seperate that one out for awhile? Or do you think it is several of them? Do you have blukote to cover the red of the blood/sores? this would help give her time to heal. ALso is there a way to set up barriers in the coop? Areas she can run to and escape if needed? Sometimes jsut being out of sight of the others willget them to leave her alone. I hate it when they do this!!!! I would also watch to see if there are any signs of illness as they can sense a weak chicken.

Well, the flock boss is one of the culprits but the formerly lowest girl as well as several others are really mean to her now. It really seems to be a majority of the flock vs. her scenario. I do have blukote and will treat her wounds ASAP. I could segregate the coop, I did this when I had chicks and it worked well. She was perfectly healthy, or seemed to be, up until the abuse started. She's lost weight now and isn't preening herself I discovered the other day (she has some lice and mites so I'm treating that and checking the other girls, so far she's the only one) but she has been laying eggs here and there. I'll try segregating her completely and see what happens. Thanks for taking the time to respond!

 

[KootenaiRiverChick]

The flock decides, sometimes, that a member is a weak link for whatever reason.

In my experience it is often hopeless. I'd rather take out the top dogs and segregate them for a while. But often, there is just no adjusting things. For certain, a bird on the lowest of the low, the outcast, the picked on end of the social order simply won't survive this abuse. You will have to decide whether keeping her in a small world at your place is what you can do. Re-homing her may very well result in the same abuse in another flock.

In the chicken world, those perceived to be the weakest links are often killed and eaten. It's what they do, or, at least are quite capable of doing.

That's what I was afraid of. They just turned on her one day and that was that. She used to be the hen that called them all to bed at night and fit in so well, so it was confounding when this happened. She was so sweet and fun, perfectly fit in and was one of our favorites. She's a light Brahma and has a "sister," who has also turned on her. This chicken-thing is hard to do sometimes. Thank you very much for your insight, it's very helpful!