Imprinting suggestions?

[argosnikki]

I bought twelve chicks that were supposed to be pullets but it turned out to be a straight run. One of the pullets was very very quiet from day one. She wasn't completely inactive but was separate from everyone else for days. We kept them in the living room for a couple of months and they are now outside and starting to lay. I removed the four boys a few weeks ago and they now have their own space. The thing is this. This one pullet has completely removed herself from everyone else no matter the environment or companions. The pullets are next to two of my older hens. She figured out how to get between the two runs by flying up over five feet to get to the divider panel either to roost on it or to hang out with the older birds in their run but she doesn't really like the older birds either. She gets run off by anyone who tries to dominate her.

The only living being she wants to be with is me. It was not intentional on my part to have her imprint on me but when she was tiny and quiet and just lying there I would go over and look at her to see if she was still alive and quietly say "Hi Maggie" just to make sure she was responsive. She has thrived and is a healthy bird but absolutely will not submit to a dominant bird. She doesn't fight back but is not a team player. When I come to feed them though, she's completely focused on me. I like to line the run with straw bales so that the birds work with the worms to fertilize them and break them down for gardening purposes and she is always right on the bale behind the door, looking at me. I have to move her to get in. I still say "Hi Maggie".

Clearly I have messed up. I do believe that she needed some encouragement when she was a two day old struggling chick but I do not know how to reverse this process. The current dominant bird is getting more aggressive about bringing her under control and she just isn't having any of it. I do have an enclosure for two special needs hens who are relatively gentle but are egg eaters. One of these birds can't handle confrontation of any kind and the other has one wing. The big question is, do I move her into this enclosure as a very young "retired" bird or do I let her continue to be the struggling odd bird out?

 

[azygous]

I must say, you have an issue I haven't heard of before. It has some elements of the issue of bullying, but it's not the usual cut and dried version of bully/victim.

First, I believe your pullet could benefit from certain aspects of my treatment regimen for bullying victims to build self confidence and to socialize her to relate to her flock. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/chicken-bully-chicken-victim-a-two-sided-issue.73923/

Yes, your idea to put her with the egg-eating outcasts is a good one. I would try that. It will be interesting to see how she does with them. You may be surprised that she will relate to the small number much better than her relationship with the flock in general.

Meanwhile, I suggest you curtail your interactions with her as much as possible as it's perpetuating her fixation on you. It will do her no harm for you to ignore her. It would be helping her to switch her focus to the flock and developing her niche within it.