I hurt my Chicken

[Lavender6]

I accidentally hurt my chicken, I think. I was trying to pick her up to dust her for lice and she flapped her wings and made a horrible sound. Now she won't come near me. She is skittish anyway and the bottom of the pecking order.
The rest of the chickens peck her but not to the point of drawing blood. She might be hurt because she stands in the corner away from everything now. She doesn't walk like she is hurt but it kills my heart. She is my favorite one, though I love them all.
Will she ever come around me again and if so how long will it take? Please help.

PS. They are about 6 months old and they all had lice. I have only had them a couple of months.

 

[Idaho Chicken Bungalow]

I'm sorry to hear this. She may be processing the whole treatment. Try feeding her out of your hand such as treats. I hope she comes around.

 

[Lavender6]

She keeps distance from even the other chickens. She always ate out of my hands and slowly did tonight but is staying away from everything..It worries me. Do other chickens know if you favor one and maybe pick more? Seems they are being meaner than they use to be

 

[Tonyroo]

The flock will bully her more if they know she's injured or crippled.

Handling chickens for treatment freaks them out and if other chickens see you do it to one, they'll see it as threat. Just went through deworming my adults, the juveniles saw everything and freaked out. Lol. Took them a couple of days to be back to normal.

To win her over give her a special treat she likes the most.

 

[Idaho Chicken Bungalow]

Have they been laying yet?

 

[Lavender6]

Only one has laid. She is the smallest and so far she lays every day. They started put so little, now they are a bit bigger. Two weeks now but not the one being bullied

 

[rosemarythyme]

Might want to see if you can do any health checks or treatments at night, off the roost. Since they can't see well when it's dark it makes them much easier to handle. Just grab them off the roost, do what you need to do, put 'em back.

 

[Idaho Chicken Bungalow]

Correct me if I'm wrong but don't chickens go off alone just before they start laying? I wonder if it's the combination of the two. May I suggest you put her in a separate place they can't get to her but can still see her so she may heal and you can bond again. Lastly I think they know when you are saving them from something serious. She will be very loyal to you when she feels better.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Might want to see if you can do any health checks or treatments at night, off the roost. Since they can't see well when it's dark it makes them much easier to handle. Just grab them off the roost, do what you need to do, put 'em back.

That's a really good idea, and is how we handle our birds. You can get a little head lamp for cheap at Walmart to leave your hands free, and you can also get one with a red light, which disturbs the birds even less. See if you can gently get hold of your special bird and look her over real well to see if she is indeed injured, or just traumatized. Good luck, and don't worry too much. We all learned "on the job," so to speak.

 

[Idaho Chicken Bungalow]

That's a really good idea, and is how we handle our birds. You can get a little head lamp for cheap at Walmart to leave your hands free, and you can also get one with a red light, which disturbs the birds even less. See if you can gently get hold of your special bird and look her over real well to see if she is indeed injured, or just traumatized. Good luck, and don't worry too much. We all learned "on the job," so to speak.

Brilliant idea. I would have never thought of a head lamp.