My Black Star hurt herself when I isolated her.

[will hunt for food]

I have a broody Black Star, which happens to be my best layer. After trying to keep her out of the nest box over and over, I decided to try isolating her in a wire rabbit box I bought at Tractor Supply. The box is the medium sized one that they sell for $30.

I put her in the box around midday yesterday with her own food and water. I kept the box in the run a few feet off the ground and all was well. When the rest of the girls started to make their way into the coop after free ranging for the last couple of hours of the day, my Black Star started to freak out. It was getting dark, and I guess she did not want to be left out in the run. She started to flop around and tried to fly out of the box. She hit her head a bunch of times , and I decided to take her out of the box and put her on the roost with the rest of the birds after blocking off the nests.

This morning, I took her off the roost and put her in the box again that was in the run. She went crazy again, and really banged herself up to the point where she was bald and bloody. She would never calm down!

I took her out of the box and treated her wound and just let her stay in the run with the rest of the birds. She would have beat herself to death in the rabbit box! I watched her a little while before going to work, and she seemed OK. She did not go into the nest box either. I hope I broke her, BUT not the way I planned.

Has anyone have this happen to them?

 

[chickensducks&agoose]

if/when I isolate my girls I put them in a pen in the coop.. so they are separate, but not alone. My goose had to be penned up alone the other day, since he was trying to eat my MIL, and he ripped his feet bloody trying to climb the wire. Birds don't like being alone! I hope your broody is broke!

 

[will hunt for food]

Yeah, I figured being alone triggered the whole event, but this morning I put her back in the box in the run when I let my other birds out of the coop (into the run).

 

[will hunt for food]

Well, it looks like we broke her from being broody, but she is still a little freaked out. I hope she calms down some more today.