LOL! Is there a way to boost a chicken's confidence?

[AppleMomma65]

My goodness - this sounds so silly!
I have a little Barnevelder - about 10 months old named Henrietta. She was being picked on by a couple of other chickens, and then about early December, she started to molt, thus, she stopped laying (know this to be because her eggs are a darker brown). When she was laying (this summer) I could catch her because she would squat, but now, she's very shy and is clearly afraid to come to the treat pan and get goodies when I bring them to the ladies. She runs away when I try to pet her. I try to single her out for treats but the others barge in. So I was just wondering if this shyness is due to molt? Is there is any way to bring her up to a more prominent place in the group? Or I'm guessing that things will just naturally sort themselves. I don't see any evidence of any more picking on her but she's not started to lay again. Any idea how long a molt last and egg production starts again?

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

It depends on what type of molt she is in. Hard molts can be of 1-2 months or even less. The other molt, up to six months! To speed up the molt, place her in a dark room for awhile until she's done molting. It could be because of the molt why she's acting that way. Currently to her, her feathers feel like a needle stabbing her every time anything or anybody touches her. I had a Barred Rock that I had to separate from the flock during one of her molts. It wasn't because I was trying to speed up the process, but it was because I had placed some new birds in the flock, and while everyone was trying to figure out pecking order, nobody was staying out of her space, thus, it was causing her some extra pain. So I placed her with a few young cockerels. Because they were still quite young, they left her alone and she left them alone. She was able to finish her molt peacefully and not alone. After she was done her molt I placed her back in her flock and everything was back to normal again.

 

[rosemarythyme]

As noted above molting is painful so molting birds may avoid being around others or being in contact with others. Once she's done she should return to "normal."

As far as when she'll resume laying, "spring" would be my guess - she needs to complete molt and is unlikely to start up again until there's enough daylight to trigger laying again.

 

[LateBirdFarms]

X2 on when she'll likely start laying again for you, depending on how difficult the molt, it's a pretty intensive nutrient stealing process so it can take a bit for her body reserves to get themselves sorted again as well. My production reds lay through molt, and winter for that matter, but you can definitely see the results sometimes to body condition.

The reason you want to mess with the natural pecking order is to give her the confidence to approach you? Or just because you feel badly for her status?

 

[Aunt Angus]

She'll come back around. Molting sucks.

I'm sure that's your primary concern: the change in her personality. I'd be a little worried, too. She'll be fine, in all likelihood.

 

[AppleMomma65]

X2 on when she'll likely start laying again for you, depending on how difficult the molt, it's a pretty intensive nutrient stealing process so it can take a bit for her body reserves to get themselves sorted again as well. My production reds lay through molt, and winter for that matter, but you can definitely see the results sometimes to body condition.

The reason you want to mess with the natural pecking order is to give her the confidence to approach you? Or just because you feel badly for her status?

It's purely for selfish reasons - because I feel bad for her. She's the smallest in the group and had a few issues when she was a chick which is probably why she's where she is in the pecking order. And even though I said "bring her up to a more prominent place ..." I don't really want to change where she is in the pecking order - they generally leave her alone - but rather for her to feel comfortable around me again. Sounds like things will all work themselves out and I'll just watch her from afar for now.

 

[bhawk-23]

I have the same issue for my smallest EE. She gained more confidence when she learned to jump on my lap for her treats. She was not bothered by the others and was able to eat. I noticed her getting in the mix a little more for those really tasty morsels after this. Did not change her status, she is still the lowest hen. But she seems happier and more confident knowing she has a way to get some treats for herself. She's also learned to follow me even when I throw the scratch down because I will sneak her a small pile so she can eat some before it is discovered by the others.