Isa Brown Pullet not eating or laying

[Librarising62]

Hello. I have been a member of this site for years ( in anticipation of the day that I might have some laying hens ) but am only now posting. I only recently bought some Isa Brown pullets from a local breeder and personally chose these birds as they were raised cage free. The day that I brought them home I noticed that the bottom of one of the pullets was really red and bare. I called the breeder and he said that the others were probably pulling her feathers. I checked to see if she was egg bound but could not feel anything when I touched her underside....sorry if that is not the correct terminology.....and was assured that she did not have mites by the breeder.
By the next day her bottom was looking redder but she was eating and drinking fine so I did not worry too much. The following day I noticed that she had feathers missing from her throat and even more were missing from her tail...but her bottom looked as though it was healing. Now, she stays to herself and will not eat so do not know what I should do at this point. Is this normal behavior for pullets? They all seemed very close when I first brought them home but now she seems to be singled out. What should I be looking for?

Thanks for any help.

 

[PSJ]

How old are they?

Could be that she is lowest in the pecking order.

 

[BunkyB]

As PSJ says even though you just brought her home with the rest, a pecking order will be established among your birds. Yes, she may be at the bottom of the order but she will join up soon enough.

It sounds like there was feather pecking going on prior to you getting the birds.She may be separating herself from the rest to get a break from the feather pecking at the breeders. Give her a little time, a few more days and watch to see maybe if one of your birds may be pecking her feathers?
Now, if you see blood coming from cuts around her bum then separate her from the rest. Chickens see blood they want to peck at it. More of a curiosity thing and chickens are carnivorous when it comes to bloody meat(pardon the bluntness) and they will peck her until death or until separated.

The only other thing I can think of is was it a breeder you got the girls from saying they were isa . If the birds came from a local egg producer selling off his birds before slaughter the caged hens would come out with severely red butts from forcibly laying eggs for so long before being released to the public or dog food factory. Good luck, I will keep watching for results... Steve

 

[robhen]

I had a hen who did this. I didn't know if she was egg bound or if mites were the problem or was she constipated. I put her in a warm bath a couple of times, gave we olive oil by syringe, separates her from rest of hens until her bottom healed and hand fed/ watered her. Took almost a week for her to snap out of this. To thi day I don't know what was going on. But she rejoined the flock and even took charge for a day or two. But now she is back to being a loner but seems happy.

 

[Librarising62]

I think this might be the case. I brought in her in my house to give her a warm soak just to see if she had an issue with being egg bound. She did enjoy the bath and was calm during it. The next day I bought some blue-kote and sprayed her backside. She appears to be doing a lot better and now I find her giving the other hens a dose of their medicine! Rather funny. Thanks for the help....I need it!

 

[Librarising62]

Thanks for the info, Steve. I did notice that the breeder had hens that had no feathers around their necks due to cage confinement but I chose the ones that were free ranging hoping they would be in better health. I guess they were just establishing pecking order as PSJ stated. She is doing great right now and laid her first egg today.

Oh, forgot to mention that they are 5 months old.

 

[Librarising62]

Wow! My hen must be related to your hen, lol. Sounds exactly like mine. When I first brought them home I noticed that they wanted to nest in my potting shed so I gathered them up and put them in a small chicken coop that I purchased them from a local builder. After that night in the little coop I noticed that the other s were treating her differently...and that she had feathers missing. I had read somewhere on byc that chickens will peck at each other in confined spaces...so, they sleep in the potting shed now.
Thanks for the help, robhen! I appreciate it.

 

[robhen]

Ur welcome. I study a lot on chickens but am new to it myself. I love my chickens. Hope IRS is doing well today!

 

[Librarising62]

She is doing fine but not laying.....bad chicken! just kidding.