My Wyandotte bantam hen got injured and wasn't doing very well. She got something caught around her legs and we didn't notice for a couple of days because she was just sitting whenever we looked. Well, by the time we got it off of her, she was going down hill and couldn't get around very well, so we brought her in the house where we could give her some TLC and nurse her back to health. That worked and she was ready to go back out with all the others after a couple of days. Just before this, we had gotten 6 new hens that are just about to start laying and gotten rid of our four older Leghorns that weren't laying much anymore, so the pecking order was all messed up. When we put this Wyandotte back out there she was mercilessly attacked. She was terrified and quickly found a place to hide from the others. After a while it became clear that the others would kill her if we left her in there so we got her out and she has been free-ranging around the yard for the past week or so. We've tried to reintroduce her into the flock, but they still go after her with a vengence. How can we get the others to let her back into the flock? Can it even be done, or should we just find her a new home?
You could try putting her in a cage or behind a fence so that she is "with" the other chickens and they can see her and get used to her presence without being able to get to her. This might give them a chance to get used to each other and for them not to see her as a threat. Also, if there is a main agressor you could separate that bird, then let the sick hen join the flock and get comfortable, and then re-introduce the agressor. Might help with power shifts in the group.
What was the result? Did you figure something out? Did it work? I have a similar situation and was searching for ideas. This hen has been with the original flock since she was a chick. But I got a new rooster 2 days before she started acting weird (so I isolated her), and now that she's perked up, he's the aggressor. The other hens were fine with her. He's big and hard to catch, but if I have to I can take him out and re-introduce him. I can't believe he forgot she belonged after just a day and a half!
