We are new to raising chickens so please bare with me. We have an EE that won't leave her nesting box. She isn't sitting on an egg so I don't think she is broody. When she goes out of the coop the other chickens peck her and won't let her eat or drink. She is losing feathers and is bleeding around her tail feathers. She lays in the nesting box shaking and sounds like crying??? We don't know wnat to do??? She is my favorite chicken so this is hard for me. Any suggestions or ideas please?
Thanks for reading,
Angel
Has she just been added to the flock? Can you tell what the source of the blood around the vent is? Injury or not? How old is she?
Blood on feathers around the vent could be cocci and if that's what it is, you need to get her on Corid immediately, because that can kill them quick. The dosage for the liquid form of it is 9.5 ml/cc per gallon of water for 5 to 7 days. Change daily. You will need a syringe to measure it out. You can also give her a drop or two directly in the beak to get her started. If all you can find is the powder form of it, do a search here, because I know that dosage is in the forum somewhere. You can find this in local feed stores or
Tractor Supply stores.
If you have a crate or pen you could put her in so she will be safe from harrassment and still be able to eat and drink. I sometimes keep the crate right in the pen with the other chickens so they can see, but can't hurt the bird. But I would get her on Corid right away, especially if she is a pullet. Feather loss could be because of lack of nutrition, molting if they are still in the growing stage, or parasites. Is the feather loss near the vent?
Now if she is an older bird, over a year old, I would guess she is having trouble laying an egg if she is sitting in the nest.
There are treatments you can try if she is eggbound. Search the term here. If she is new to laying, give her a day or two.
Or, if she was just added to the flock in the last few days, she is simply escaping the harrassment. In any case, if she is new, I'd treat her for lice or mites (simply because she is new and could very well have them), then I would put her and your least aggressive female in a seperate pen so they can become semi friends. Preferably, next to the other pen so they can still see the other birds. There will be alot of posturing near the fence with the other birds. There will be a bit of fighting until the pecking order is figured out between the two, but keep them together for at least a week, then add maybe another hen and let them establish their order. Then in a few days introduce them back to the original flock. She will at least have two birds that will no longer be harrassing her and might be able to deal with the others better. Right now, if she is the new kid on the block, she is catching it from everybody and it's just too much for her to deal with on her own.
