The Grobfather
In the Brooder
- Sep 19, 2023
- 18
- 3
- 14
Hello everyone,
I am in Michigan, and I have a flock of three hens, all Isa-Browns, approximately 1.5 years old. They all grew up together from the same batch.
About a month ago, during an inspection, I discovered that one of my hens, who has had bumblefoot multiple times, had developed it again in both feet. After two and a half weeks of treatment, she was healed and ready to be reintegrated with the other two hens.
However, their behavior has been fluctuating, and I am unsure how to proceed. To help with the reintegration, I set up a pen adjacent to the coop where she could interact with the other two hens for about six hours a day through the chicken run fence.
I’ve tried various approaches, such as letting them free range together, placing her in the coop at night, and introducing her to a new environment in my old chicken run. Despite these efforts, the following behaviors have emerged:
1. One of the hens repeatedly makes a cawing noise, as if alerting to danger. Meanwhile, the bigger hen and my formerly sick and isolated hen run back and forth, puffing themselves up.
2. When all three hens are in the same area, they initially seem to balance out. However, they either end up ganging up on the isolated hen, or she chases and tries to pluck feathers from their backs.
3. Placing the isolated hen in the run causes her to chase and attack the others.
4. Introducing the isolated hen at night results in the other two hens ganging up on her and attempting to attack.
I’ve been trying these methods for about a week and a half now, but I’m not sure how to proceed. Should I allow them to fight despite the chasing and feather plucking, or is there a better approach?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I am in Michigan, and I have a flock of three hens, all Isa-Browns, approximately 1.5 years old. They all grew up together from the same batch.
About a month ago, during an inspection, I discovered that one of my hens, who has had bumblefoot multiple times, had developed it again in both feet. After two and a half weeks of treatment, she was healed and ready to be reintegrated with the other two hens.
However, their behavior has been fluctuating, and I am unsure how to proceed. To help with the reintegration, I set up a pen adjacent to the coop where she could interact with the other two hens for about six hours a day through the chicken run fence.
I’ve tried various approaches, such as letting them free range together, placing her in the coop at night, and introducing her to a new environment in my old chicken run. Despite these efforts, the following behaviors have emerged:
1. One of the hens repeatedly makes a cawing noise, as if alerting to danger. Meanwhile, the bigger hen and my formerly sick and isolated hen run back and forth, puffing themselves up.
2. When all three hens are in the same area, they initially seem to balance out. However, they either end up ganging up on the isolated hen, or she chases and tries to pluck feathers from their backs.
3. Placing the isolated hen in the run causes her to chase and attack the others.
4. Introducing the isolated hen at night results in the other two hens ganging up on her and attempting to attack.
I’ve been trying these methods for about a week and a half now, but I’m not sure how to proceed. Should I allow them to fight despite the chasing and feather plucking, or is there a better approach?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
