SORRY THIS IS LIKE 'WAR AND PEACE' BUT I NEED TO SET THE SCENE!
I've had 3 Ex-bats for a fortnight now. One of them, Agatha, has always stood out as being quite unfriendly. She moves away from me and goes to peck me if I try to pick her up, where as the others will come to me quite happily.
A couple of days ago I went down to the run to find a pile of feathers there. The hen they belonged to, Nancy, apart from looking white (not brown), seemed OK. I spoke to a careline advisor who said that Nancy was being bullied and I should withdraw the bully. I hadn't witnessed any bullying as such, just the occasional and expected peck or two, but certainly nothing to be concerned about. I have assumed therefore that if there is a bully in the house, then it's Agatha, and following the advice given to me, I seperated her (a dog cage next to the run where they can all still see each other).
On the first night I put her back in the hen house, and in the morning I found a mass of feathers again so I put her back in the dog cage. I rang the careline number again who said that they shouldn't lose feathers and she is being bullied, therefore needs to be seperated at night as well.
Last night I put her in the shed but when I took out her food bowl before doing so, she flew at me like a hen possessed! I'm sure I'm doing more harm than good! Anyway, I've had a good look at Nancy, and I'm convinced she's moulting. The feathers are just dropping off her and she seems to have 'spiky' skin. I could have stuffed a pillow in the 5 minutes she was on my lap. This afternoon then, I put Agatha back in the run with the rest, but my problem now is that she IS pecking at poor Nancy! This seperation (albeit 2 days) hasn't done anyone any good! If anything it's just intensified her angst.
I'd really appreciate some advice thank you.