Reintroducing the injured/bullied hen...

[poulet2016]

Hi there,
My girls are molting and one of them much more dramatically than the others. She was ganged up on Friday and I came home to find her bloody and pecked over something awful especially where her new feathers are coming in. I removed her immediately, and she's been in a large dog crate ,separate but right next to the rest of the flock ever since. It's only been a couple of days but I'm going to have to reintroduce her eventually! I was hoping to keep her out about a week to give her wounds the chance to heal, slather her up with Peck-no-more (I tried getting Pine Tar but the feed store only had this and assured me it was just as good) and to be able to reintroduce her Saturday morning while I am home so I can see and intervene if they are totally destroying her! I am so nervous about it. One of them came right up to her while she was in the dog crate and was being quite aggressive from across the bars. What one earth happened to my chickens?! She is not a new chicken..was chicks with the rest of them.
My question is..is there any way to make this reentry safer for her? Is my plan okay? Is a week too long away from the others? I know to keep her in site/close proximity of the others so they don't forget about her..but I am nervous. Any tips appreciated. Still heartbroken over this horrible behavior from my girls!!

 

[Little Chicken Girl]

Molting is very stressful for chickens... They may get rather edgy, grumpy... and even aggressive... Sadly, new feather-shafts can be an outlet for grumpy and/or bored chickens.

Because of this, I would advise introducing the hen to the others in an area with lots of room and generous perching space... That is, when she is better (no scabs or abrasions remaining... wounds, even partially/mostly healed ones can spark interest in other chickens).

How big is your coop/run? If it is fairly small, I would advise letting them out of the run during for a day and introducing the picked on hen (while they are free) and putting them all away together for bed. Then, the following morning, I would recommend putting some grass clippings and/or a scratch block in the run area to keep the chickens occupied.

I would also advise feeding them plenty of nutrient dense feed (layer pellets or feather-fixer... and maybe a complete mineral supplement on the side) because some chickens may get canibalistic when they are nutrient deficient... and feather rebuilding takes a lot of minerals and protein.

This are just my opinions though... and I am not a professional/expert or avian vet... These are just some things that have worked for me and my fussy hens during molting season.

 

[Pork Pie]

http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/reintegrating-a-recovered-hen-to-a-small-flock

http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1015820/reintegration-by-supervised-visits#post_15742910

 

[poulet2016]

Molting is very stressful for chickens... They may get rather edgy, grumpy... and even aggressive... Sadly, new feather-shafts can be an outlet for grumpy and/or bored chickens.

Because of this, I would advise introducing the hen to the others in an area with lots of room and generous perching space... That is, when she is better (no scabs or abrasions remaining... wounds, even partially/mostly healed ones can spark interest in other chickens).

How big is your coop/run? If it is fairly small, I would advise letting them out of the run during for a day and introducing the picked on hen (while they are free) and putting them all away together for bed. Then, the following morning, I would recommend putting some grass clippings and/or a scratch block in the run area to keep the chickens occupied.

I would also advise feeding them plenty of nutrient dense feed (layer pellets or feather-fixer... and maybe a complete mineral supplement on the side) because some chickens may get canibalistic when they are nutrient deficient... and feather rebuilding takes a lot of minerals and protein.

This are just my opinions though... and I am not a professional/expert or avian vet... These are just some things that have worked for me and my fussy hens during molting season.

Thank you so much for your advice! Our run is not huge, but it is not tiny either. I have been thinking that I should probably add to it..though this is the first time it's been trouble.
I am going to try lots of diversions and of course keeping her apart but in view of the others until she is totally better.

 

[poulet2016]

http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/reintegrating-a-recovered-hen-to-a-small-flock

http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1015820/reintegration-by-supervised-visits#post_15742910

Thanks for sending this link to my attention!