they are attacking her!

[shell3]

hi, ive had a chicken whos been really ill shes been in the house for nearly 3 weeks and is still not recovered fully. shes under weight and comb is still pale and dry. she still on antibiotics and im trying to put weight on her but she will only eat the treat food and ignores pellets she also seems really bored so i tried to put her back outside today for fresh air and hopefully to eat some pellets but to my horror the moment i put her down my other two chickens started attacking her! pecking her feathers and chasing her! they have been together from birth and always got on but having her inside so long must have changed something. shes to weak to fight back and i broght her back inside but what the flip do i do now?!!! i have nowhere else to house her. do i keep her in till shes back to healthy and has put weight back on? any advice on what to feed her wouldbe great, shes so thin! or do i lock the others in the mini run and let her have some time outside?

this is my run, as you see theres the mini run attatched to the coop.
is this normal for them to attack like that? is it because she smell different from being inside? or just because shes been absent??

 

[thebanthams]

Thats what hens do, they dont hens back in their pens even if its their siblings. Put the sick one in the cage next to them or the put the other ones in cage and let the sick one roam. it takes few days before they except them ! Also I would put food next to each other by the pen so they will act like they are eating together.

 

[shell3]

thank you so much for that advice , im off to do that right now! so glad alls not lost from what you say they will get used to each other again, thank crunchy for that!! will make sure they have food in same place either side of mesh! thanks x

 

[shell3]

ok thats done the two are in the little run and sickly chick is in big run but all eating bowls of food next to each other. i covered some pellets with boiling bater to make mash added few oats and let cool. she wouldnt eat it inside but now they are eating theirs on the other side of the run! hey presto shes eating yay! love love love good advice

 

[thebanthams]

Im glad ! give them few days, and time for her to heal !

 

[shell3]

im going to do that every day now til they get used to her again but i need to do a few hours at a time i think bcos its so cold out and shes so thin! dont think she'd make it through the night in freezing temps but i only have the one coop anyway and cant put her in with them at bedtime anyway cos they pecking her. i know im a softy but i just thought the'd be glad to see her again!

 

[shell3]

dont think i can put her out today.its snowing!!

 

[thebanthams]

Its hard to care for animals in crazy weather !! I hate it when its muddy.

 

[aghiowa]

I had one of my young ladies in my house for 3 weeks when she was recovering from a dog attack. What I did to reintroduce her to the flock was to put her out on the roost at night when they were all sleeping. They seem to accept "new" members better that way.

Good luck!
Angela

 

[Chambertin]

Good advice all around. Sleeping and eating together really change a chickens attitude.
Its quite suprising to see how the flock dynamics can change with as little as 1 week of seperation.
We had a bad sickness spell here where some required attention, and there were a couple deaths. Most notibly the top girl (will be very missed)
Old freindships broke apart and new ones formed. Its not the same as before but its all stable now.

Your girls will get along well eventually, but dont expect the same order. This girl might be permanently at the bottom, but pecking should stop.
Its best to keep her as safe as possible because as you have seen many breeds will react violently to a sick bird. Maybe its preservation instinct, who knows.

Happy that the girl is eating. Its tough that they heal better when with others, but then it risks the sick one getting pecked or spreading the bug.
All looks well for you and good luck for a speedy recovery.