Hens attacking another hen.

[Fire]

I have a hen who I think is molting. Today I noticed the other hens attacking her to the point where she couldnt feed and stayed in the coop all day. She dosnt seem to be injured other than whatever is going on with her feathers. At this point I took her out of the run and have her in a large dog crate. Figured I would come here for help. Should I put her back and let them work it out? Is something wrong with her? Is this normal for what a hen molting looks like? Thanks for the help and sorry if the questions are silly.

 

[Pinky]

Some birds go through hard molts. I have one that looks like that now, and before she started to molt, she never got picked on.

 

[BirdMan32]

Out of 11 we have 1 or 2 bullies. I guess it's a part of raising chickens. Kind of like perpetual high school!

 

[Fire]

I have never had problems with them getting a long should I put her back and see how it goes or do I need to keep her separate.

 

[birdlover]

Yep! She's in molt all right!! Is there a way you can separate her but they can still see each other? Like put the dog crate in the coop or fence off an area with chicken wire so they won't forget who she is and vice versa. Nothing worse than trying to reintroduce a hen after she's been away for a week sight unseen! In any case, keep a close eye on her. I once came across a hen just like her and the others were literally eating her alive. Thank God I was able to intervene and it had a happy ending. Edited to say: They weren't my chickens!!!

 

[ruffles]

Moulting, just went thru it with 18 hens