Hen rejected by flock

[abenardini]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/

Lots of information in this article

Very helpful - thank you! The interesting thing I was thinking about was that if I never brought home any other birds from the outside (and assuming the wind/wild bird avenue is not possible,) it would seemingly be possible to completely prevent the flock from getting infected.

 

[My Bagurks]

Like what was said before. Since Merricks is a possibility, give it time to see if it progresses.
If she’s ok, I would suggest chicks. So when you introduce them, she, being the biggest, will be the alpha. And as the chicks grow they will see her as a permanent member of the flock and hopefully never bully her.

I have also seen chickens with neurological disorders. One of my father-in-law’s chickens always has its head turned sideways. When she goes places she doesn’t go in a straight line. She does loop-de-loops everywhere and always to the right. She grazes in a circle. It’s funny, but she’s fully functioning otherwise. Lays eggs, gets bullied here and there, but nothing serious.

I hope it’s not Merricks and I hope she does ok. Good luck.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Very helpful - thank you! The interesting thing I was thinking about was that if I never brought home any other birds from the outside (and assuming the wind/wild bird avenue is not possible,) it would seemingly be possible to completely prevent the flock from getting infected.

This is one reason why large producers raise their birds inside giant sheds. That's not practical for the average keeper, so deciding how you will manage it is always a good thing for keepers to think about.

If chickens are thought of as pets than the vaccine may be the way to go. I keep a flock, so I prefer my flock to have immunity and I remove birds that show symptoms in order to keep the flock stronger. "The needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few."