This is a NIGHTMARE!!!!! Poor hen being killed by flock

[renewistrombaker]

please help me with some sage advise oh fellow backyard chicken moms and dads ! im seriously almost in tears.
I TRIED TO BREAK IT DOWN AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE SO ITS NOT TOO LONG;

i have 4 hens- rhode island reds
1 went broody 2 months ago so we got her some fertile eggs (2) which hatched 7/27. she lived in the enclosed pen with her babies from day 1 which is right next to coop so they all see each other.
she was looking haggard so i took her to vet tues
vet said shes healthy but sapped and to remove babies from her so she can become a hen again. this was tuesday. told me to try to integrate her into the flock which i thought would be easy as my hens are super sweet.

SCENARIO;
i have an enclosed coop + hen house/nests which when left open they can free range the yard.
i also have an enclosed chicken run right next to the coop separated by wire which when left open also has free range access


tues-the alpha attacked her right away when i put her near the flock while out in the yard
i put mom in the enclosed pen for the rest of the day
shes terrified now.

wed-i put alpha in the coop with the 2nd order hen and left mom with 3rd order to hang out in the yard /enclosed pen. she stayed away from the other hen - it seemed ok

thurs- shffuled them all arond so she had free range time and the hens had free range time while not coming into contact.

today- put alpha in coop. left the other 3 to free range with enclosed pen propped open. all seemed ok til she got into the corner of enclosed pen next to the alpha who went ape thru the wire and the one in the pen, 3rd order with her went ape too and pecked the crap out of her head. shes bleeding and terrified to go near any of the flock now and seems to like hanging out with me.

i put all the 3 hens in the coop and mom has free range plus the pen right now. she wont venture far from her pen

WHAT DO I DO NOW???????
I CANT HAVE 1 FLOCK AND A LONER.
I STILL HAVE 2 MONTH OLD BANTYS IN MY DAUGHTERS ROOM NOW

I LOVE MY CHICKENS AND DONT WANT HER TO SUFFER.
HELP PLEASE !!!!!!!!!!!!

thanks in advance

rene

 

[kasey08]

thats so sad... maybe just keep her in the pen for now. thats really odd was she low in the picking order?

 

[Damummis]

If it is real bad maybe you need to get some peepers. Little blinders for the alpha hen. They are not expensive and they help a lot with pecking issues. Plus they will be so busy trying to get used to them they won't have time to deal with pecking order. Just an idea.

 

[ninjascrub69]

just put the hen thats 3rd in the pecking order in with her for about a week or two, then put the hen thats 2nd in the pecking order in with them, and then after a while put the hen thats 1st in the pecking order in with the rest it does'nt always work but thats all i know to do.

 

[mxer]

try putting the Alpha hen by herself in a small brooder type pen for two or three days. Then release her to rest of birds and see how it goes then. I just did this with a Roo and it worked perfectly.

 

[NeeleysAVLChicks]

Quote:
That's what I would recommend. Put the alpha hen in a timeout pen, away from the other two, so she can't see them. Give it 2 or 3 days and then put the alpha hen back in with the other two. By that point, her position on the pecking order will have been knocked down. This has worked for me several times, when in doubt, just shuffle 'em around for a few days, there will be peace in the flock again. Good luck!