Mean Girls - This isn't high school

[Jen T]

My WL, Pearl. Rough couple of months. Hard molt in January. Cut over her eye a couple of weeks ago, treated. Currently has bumble foot which we are treating. Flock consists of 9, 3 y/o hens. Pearl is toward bottom of pecking order. Has NEVER let me just scoop her up. Have to go out when on roost to get her for bootie cleaning (perpetual poopy butt) and nail trimming (fastest growing talons this side of the Mississippi). Has not laid in at least 2 wks. certain because she is my only white egg layer. Here lately she is, for lack of a better word, depressed. Everyone else is scratching around the chicken yard and she's snoozing under a chair on the deck. She will let me pick her up and sit with her. I go out this evening to lock everyone up and coop mate is literally pecking at her while she is minding her own business on the roost. She has a couple spots on her big ole floppy comb that could be pecking from others or could be light frostbite maybe? IDK what to do. she acts like she doesn't feel good but I've given her and everyone else the once over and all seems well. Just leave it and let nature take its course??

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

It all depends on how you view your chickens. Pets or livestock.

Often bottom birds will get picked on, especially if chickens are kept confined. If given places to hide or get away they do okay.

Here a chicken with multiple health problems that I can easily catch gets culled unfortunately. I keep a flock, and view each bird as it relates to the whole.

Other chickens will often try to kill odd acting or unwell birds, it's not a good way to go. I personally would remove her. Either temporarily to her own pen, or permanently.

 

[aart]

Sounds like she's sick, why she's isolating, has loose poops, is lethargic, and the other birds are picking on her.

This is what I do when I have a birds that is 'off'.....
I isolate bird in a wire cage within the coop for a day or two....so I can closely monitor:
-their intake of food and water,
-crop function(checking at night and in morning before providing more feed),
-and their poops.
Feel their abdomen, from below vent to between legs, for squishy or hard swelling.
Check for external parasites or any other abnormalities.

Best to put crate right in coop or run so bird is still 'with' the flock.
I like to use a fold-able wire dog crate (24"L x 18"W x 21"H) with smaller mesh(1x2) on bottom of crate under tray.
Then you can put tray underneath crate to better observe droppings without it being stepped in. If smaller mesh is carefully installed, tray can still be used inside crate.

 

[Jen T]

Thank you both for your input! I’ve already got a dog crate set up in the coop for injuries or broody breaking. I had Pearl in there a couple days while the cut was healing. I’ll put her back and monitor her for a few days.