Keep them separate?

[GardenZen]

I had a flock of 4 (2 barred rock and 2 partridge rock) and one of the partridge rocks has always been more gentle than the others. I have no idea what happened but I went out to say hi to them one day during a snow storm and the gentle PR was bleeding and the other PR chomping on her crown.

Of course I freaked out and rushed her to the vet who got her all fixed up and said to keep her separate because that might happen again. It's been a couple weeks now and although part of her crown is gone, she's healed. She's in a run next to her original one and can still see her sisters but she has her own coop and I'm worried she's lonely. She goes into the coop just fine (so much easier than she did in the original one!) but I just don't know....

Will she be okay sleeping alone? Should I try to adopt a chicken friend for her? Should I get some chicks to raise up for her? She's not broody so it would be awhile before they moved in with her.

I had no idea how easy it was to love a chicken and how much I'd worry about their well being but here I am, 11 months in and needing some advice.

 

[TesoroSena]

I am so sorry what happened to your hen! She most likely is lonely. Have you tried to reintroduce her to another hen in a controlled space? If you haven’t, I would recommend trying. If they are still mean I suggest getting another hen, a pullet would be best so that your hen doesn’t feel threatened by the new hen.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I'd be trying to reintegrate her back with the original group. There's no guarantee if you get another hen or two that you won't have a new but different pecking order issue.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

It's possible that your PR injured her comb in some way that caused it to bleed, and the other hen pecked at it because chickens will always peck at anything red. You say she's in a coop adjacent to the other hens in a "see-no-touch" kind of arrangement, right? They can see one another but not actually interact. So putting them together shouldn't cause any problems, it's not like they've been completely separated from each other. Why don't you try putting them together and watch to see what happens? It's possible they'll get along like they did before the injury, as if nothing happened, provided she's completely healed and there's nothing for her flockmate to peck at. Be ready to step in if it looks like there's going to be a problem, though.

 

[GardenZen]

Thank you all so much! I'll admit to feeling pretty darned embarrassed it didn't occur to me that the chomping might have been a one time thing and to try and put her back with her little flock. I'll give that a try tomorrow and am glad no one will be able to see me lurking behind the coop, making sure my girls are getting along....