Plucked feathers

[Judy1234]

I have a hen that is about 10 weeks old. I put her out with my other chickens and they plucked all of her feathers out on her back and almost killing her. I brought her back in the house and she is doing fine now. Will the feathers grow back? Here is a picture of her.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Welcome, that's a pretty nasty wound. She should grow feathers back eventually, but you never know, it could be too damaged.

It's best to pen a new bird where everyone becomes familiar with them through a fence, before starting supervised mingling. Never just add a bird. I take weeks to months to introduce a new bird. It should never be rushed.

Your little girl is lucky to be alive. Hopefully she's healing up.

 

[Crazy for Chickens!]

Whoa. To bad you couldn't have removed her before it got so bad. I agree, you should never just put a new chicken in with another flock. They have to get used to them. I would strongly suggest penning her separately, like in a cage you could fix up for her, s d maybe put the cage by some other chickens so she doesn't feel so lonely. Reason is, because if any chicken has a wound like that, the others will peck on it. Even if they are used to her. It's kind of something they can't resist. So if she's alone, nobody can peck on her, and her feathers can grow back faster. It will take a while, and you need to wait until they are almost completely grown back to put her back with the others. Because if it still looks strange, they will just peck on it again, and all progress will be lost. Hope this helps!