Pecked hen reintroduced and taken out again.

[pfost262]

So I had a hen who was pecked pretty badly. I was able to get her out and she healed up pretty well in 2 weeks. Still bare skin but pretty healed. I put her back in with the flock yesterday and it went pretty well, to an extent. She was pecked and pecked back as I had expected due to the pecking order. Later yesterday she had blood drawn but seemed to have covered it in the dirt and now today she had more blood and bled while laying an egg (there was a bit of blood on the bedding and egg.) So, I took her out and put her in a smaller cage. I had her originally in a large cage for a large dog originally and she went NUTS! Cawing to no end and pacing back and forth. So now I have her in a smaller dog crate with somewhat limited light and she is still cawing and going NUTS. I'm a bit lost as to what to do. Should I still keep her out even though she is cawing non stop? Has anyone had this problem before? I have also been applying blu-kote and it has helped somewhat in the healing process but is there maybe a better solution? Thanks!

 

[Megan Amber]

I totally relate!!! What I would do to help return her is I would put her and the cage she is in in the middle of your coop with the rest of the chickens for a while. this will allow them to get used to her again. Hope it helps!!

 

[SD Bird Lady]

You could try taking her out with another bird. I usually take an injured bird with one that is the lowest on the pecking order. That way when you reintroduce them they aren't going it alone. Good Luck!

 

[pfost262]

My larger concern, I think is that she goes crazy in the cage. Is that normal? I don't want her to have a hear attack. I just lost my Delaware, my favorite bird, on Sunday I don't want to loose another!

 

[Megan Amber]

It is normal. Not much you can really do about it. I can never stop mine from panicking. You could try covering it with a towel.

 

[pfost262]

Will do!, Thank you!

 

[Megan Amber]

Cool! Hope it works for you.

 

[BeetleChick]

I had a hen with the same problem, i put her in a small dog pen inside the chicken coop, so she was still with the other chickens but safe from their pecking. During the day she was in the coop with the others locked outside with plenty of food and water.

 

[kimberliem]

Are all of the others pecking at her? Or just one in particular?

I had a scare a few weeks back with a brutal pecking attack. The injured one was inside for 2 weeks while the skin healed over in a large dog crate. I then moved it outside and had her in the crate next to the run for few days. Then, I swapped the 'mean' girl with the injured one for a few days allowing her to peacefully join the others. There was still some pecking order stuff going on when they were finally all out together but nothing bad...no blood drawn.

Maybe you could pull the one pecking for a few days instead of locking the injured one up?

Also, I put blu-cote on the bare skin to camoflage having no feathers...not sure if it helped...but it didn't hurt. Feathers are all coming back in and everyone gets along great now.