[rachelr]

Hi folks I picked up my ex batterys at the begining of this week. Of the 4 I have three left. My biggest worry is that one in particular is a very puny little thing. I keep picking her up and her crop is half the size of the other birds. She is very fiesty and stroppy but does not venture out much as she is picked on by the others. I isolated her and fed her weetabix and mash but she went bolistic and screamed about being kept in a rabbit hutch lol

Should I stop being such an over protective mum and let her get on with it!!!!!!!!!!

[joyfull]

keep her with the others but just be on standby with the purple spray. The sorting out with the pecking order can take several weeks. Make sure you have a couple of feeders, drinkers and several places she can run and hide until it is sorted out. Sadly there is always one who is the bottom of the pecking order.

[Jeanette]

As put by joyfull she needs to stay with the others. I do know it is very hard to just watch and do nothing but they have to sort out the pecking order and once that is sorted out you will have very happy girls.

[rachelr]

thanks for that I put her in a separate house for about an hour just so she could eat. I have a totally different problem now. I have three hens who are staging SIT OUTS. Two of my original flock and one of the newbies. They refused to go to bed or even near the coop. We picked them up and put them in the coop and closed the door. The noise of irritation was bad. I am now wondering if I actually have the right size coop for them or if in fact they are just being spoilt brats lol

[Thingy]

Sometimes, to build a hens confidence and make sure she is eating, you can remove her from the flock in order to have and eat and a drink, then put them back in after, say, 15 mins. That way they stay with the flock but you can make sure she is eating and she will be getting attention from you, which I find, hens like alot