lowest ranked chicken

[Amastacia]

i have one chick (about 11 weeks old right now) that is very much the bottom of the pecking order. i noticed sunday that she looked a bit weak, i think she has been having trouble getting to the feed enough. i brought her into the garage in a spare rabbit cage and gave her some food. she ate fine and perked up a good bit, so i don't think she is sick or anything like that. i put her back out with the others tuesday morning when i let them out to range.

my plan, since i doubt she will ever not be bottom bird is to keep an eye on her and whenever i suspect she isn't getting enough food to bring her in for a day or two by herself to get some food in her then put her back out. does this sound like a reasonable idea? or is there something else i should do that would work better?

oh, i have 8x 1 year old hens and 22x 11 week old chicks, a mixed flock, and the one in question is the only Polish of the lot. i suspect that is part of why she is bullied a bit. she is missing a lot of feathers but i haven't seen any real damage or any blood.

 

[Den in Penn]

You can take her out to feed her. Be aware that higher ranked hens can pick even more on a lower rank they think has gotten special treatment, from you or a rooster. Being the only Polish in there with her top crest can be a problem. Can she see well enough through the feathers?

 

[Amastacia]

she is still young enough that she can see fine (she also only has about half of her crest, she was beat up by my hens a while back and is missing a bunch of feathers.) she is really scraggly looking at this point. i'm hoping she looks more normal after she molts this fall/winter.

i will definitely keep an eye on her and the others for increased issues. it does seem that since the chicks get to range with the hens that problems are decreasing, so hopefully i won't have any real problems with her. i saw her eating with some of the other chicks yesterday.

 

[Den in Penn]

The space free ranging provides can help with a lot with social inter actions. If they are eating together, the melding process is coming along. The first adult molt happens at around eighteen months If she's is this years chick sh has a long way to go. If the shaft has been pulled out the feathers do regrow at anytime.

 

[Amastacia]

well, she is still having problems. she was the first chick to actually leave the coop, even though they have been able to for about a week now. i think she was leaving to get away from the other chicks. then i caught two of my year old ISA hens attacking her. i'm thinking i will build a separate space for her, a small tractor or something and put the other smaller chick (who hasn't had any problems with the others) in there until they grow bigger so she won't be alone. keeping them in view of the others but separate for a while and see if that helps.