Hen spending entire day inside coop and not eating by herself

[Jemma Rider]

I have a hen Named Rosie Mary and yesterday she went inside the coop around lunch time and didn't come out until i chased her. All she was doing was standing on the roosting bars and she would hop down to look at the door into the run but then run back in like something scared her. Today i went out and noticed that she wasn't outside again, so i chased her out collected my eggs and left home to do some errands, they took all day and i just got home about twenty minutes ago. I got home and all of the chickens were inside the coop already so i closed the coop door and locked up for the night, i then checked on the girls and boys who were settling in for sleep. I noticed that Rosie's crop didn't look full on the outside so i picked her up and felt for it. I felt absolutely nothing in it.
It was at this point i started to really worry so i got her some food and she ate an entire fourth cup of feed from my hand with no hesitation. I tried to get her outside for some water but she refused to leave the coop and i figured she wouldn't be that into drinking water either. She also had bumblefoot about three or so weeks ago which i had to cut out of her foot. She is still bandaged up, i change the bandage every few days and put on antibiotic ointment every time.
I'm really worried about her, she's normally a really active chicken and she always loves to run out in the morning and eat anything and everything in sight.

 

[chuckachucka]

Have you checked her foot for infection? It might be that she doesn't want to walk on it because it is still hurting her and that's why she isn't going to the feeder or leaving the coop?
Does she look otherwise healthy? Comb and poop normal?

 

[chickengeorgeto]

As bumble foot is more prevalent in the heavier breeds I would be interested in Rosie Mary's petagree or liking that her weight.

 

[Jemma Rider]

Have you checked her foot for infection? It might be that she doesn't want to walk on it because it is still hurting her and that's why she isn't going to the feeder or leaving the coop?
Does she look otherwise healthy? Comb and poop normal?

It doesn't seem infected, not swollen or oozing. But I'm not entirely sure the scab is healthy, nit really sure what a healthy scab is supposed to look like. She isn't limping and was completely normal yesterday morning. I'm really hoping its not that her poor foot has been through enough.

 

[Jemma Rider]

As bumble foot is more prevalent in the heavier breeds I would be interested in Rosie Mary's petagree or liking that her weight.

She's an Amarucana hen, pretty small but has always been a bit of a pig. She's really light I'd guess she's around seven to twelve pounds. I haven't had time since getting them to get a proper scale so I've guessed their weights as best i can. Also she's molting as well i don't know if that could have anything to do with it.
She's pretty terrified of one of my roosters, he'll be off to a new home as soon as possible since my other one is much more polite. But Rosies been pretty stressed running him off every time he goes after her. Though recently she's started running away instead of fighting and calling for me because that dumb roo doesn't know how to take a hint. I'm wondering if she's just trying to avoid him but because he never leaves the run she just barricades herself in the coop all day. I don't know this is really unlike her.

 

[azygous]

You need to observe flock dynamics when Rosie is in among them. It could be the rooster is harassing her, but more likely it's another hen. She's probably hiding out in the coop to avoid being chased and picked on. This is probably why she isn't eating.

Currently I have such a hen. She's six years old and had always been self assured and even bossy. But then she began spending all day holed up in the coop. She had lost a lot of weight and I finally figured out it was a two-year old hen that was bullying and chasing her.

I have a "jail" within the run for isolating problem chickens, and I also sometimes use it for victims that need rehabilitating. Spending her days in this safe enclosure has helped my victimized hen to put weight back on and to regain her self confidence.

It's very important that you do not remove your hen from the flock. She needs to always be within full view of them or she will become a stranger and things would be worse for her when she returned. But some time away from bullying could be good medicine for her.

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

It's very important that you do not remove your hen from the flock. She needs to always be within full view of them or she will become a stranger and things would be worse for her when she returned. But some time away from bullying could be good medicine for her.[/QUOTE]

Agree, its the bully who needs to do the hard time in chicken jail.....

Gary

 

[Jemma Rider]

You need to observe flock dynamics when Rosie is in among them. It could be the rooster is harassing her, but more likely it's another hen. She's probably hiding out in the coop to avoid being chased and picked on. This is probably why she isn't eating.

Currently I have such a hen. She's six years old and had always been self assured and even bossy. But then she began spending all day holed up in the coop. She had lost a lot of weight and I finally figured out it was a two-year old hen that was bullying and chasing her.

I have a "jail" within the run for isolating problem chickens, and I also sometimes use it for victims that need rehabilitating. Spending her days in this safe enclosure has helped my victimized hen to put weight back on and to regain her self confidence.

It's very important that you do not remove your hen from the flock. She needs to always be within full view of them or she will become a stranger and things would be worse for her when she returned. But some time away from bullying could be good medicine for her.

I'll set up a little area with food and water tomorrow for her i think she'll really like it. But if this doesn't work what do i do? Is this a symptom of any disease or is she depressed or is her bumblefoot coming back. I can get pictures tomorrow morning if necessary it just really isn't like her.

 

[azygous]

If she's eating, she's not sick. You should be able to look at her foot and tell if there's any new swelling or black scab. I doubt if she's hiding out because of a sore foot, though.

To be sure she's feeling okay, watch her moving around in the flock. If she goes for a corner and faces in toward the wall with her tail held low and flat, and she doesn't want to move around or eat, and if she is completely mute, then she's sick.

When I put a bullied hen in "rehab" to regain their weight and self confidence, it can take around three or four weeks for the transformation. They sleep in the coop with the flock.

Sometimes, for whatever reason, it doesn't make things any better, then you need to look at other options such as pinless peepers for the bully, or rehoming the bully, or something more drastic such as removal of the bully for a couple weeks to a remote area so when she returns, she's a stranger and needs to begin again at the bottom of the social order, leaving little energy to be a bully.

 

[Jemma Rider]

If she's eating, she's not sick. You should be able to look at her foot and tell if there's any new swelling or black scab. I doubt if she's hiding out because of a sore foot, though.

To be sure she's feeling okay, watch her moving around in the flock. If she goes for a corner and faces in toward the wall with her tail held low and flat, and she doesn't want to move around or eat, and if she is completely mute, then she's sick.

When I put a bullied hen in "rehab" to regain their weight and self confidence, it can take around three or four weeks for the transformation. They sleep in the coop with the flock.

Sometimes, for whatever reason, it doesn't make things any better, then you need to look at other options such as pinless peepers for the bully, or rehoming the bully, or something more drastic such as removal of the bully for a couple weeks to a remote area so when she returns, she's a stranger and needs to begin again at the bottom of the social order, leaving little energy to be a bully.

Ok, sorry it's just really hard not to freak out about things like this. I'm going to set up her separate area later when i have some help from a fellow human being and today i went out in the coop and chased her out again. She ran out and back in before i could blink. So i picked her up and carried her out and closed the coop door so she had to stay outside at least to drink. As always the cockrel was a douche bag but Rosie's sister chased him off for her. My hens are all really close and chase the roo off for each other when they scream. I then opened the door and she didn't run in immediately and she was out last i checked. I'm hoping that's going to be it but I'm still going to set up the second area just in case, she could use a break from the roo anyway.