[Harviestoun Hens]

Good morning!

I seem to have a rogue hen, and I'm not quite sure what to do with her...  Her name is Lil and she's one of 6 who have free reign of our large country garden.  Recently she's begun to roost on a fence (in all weathers) rather than go back to the hen house at night, and I have to manually carry her home when she's asleep!

Having spent some time with all six this morning, I can see that she's lost quite a few feathers to the back of her neck.  She was previously quite a dominant hen but now seems to be hen-pecked.  Poor Lil!  Any advice on what steps to take?

Many thanks,
Lynn

[bantam novice]

Oh dear, poor Lil  .  Pecking order can be very fierce in chickens.  You may need some purple spray (yes it is called that but is actually Gentian Violet) if they are drawing blood.  Hens are attracted to the colour red and would just keep pecking at it.  It also acts as an antiseptic.

It may also be worth checking on what I call the usual suspects.

If she is losing feathers it may be because she is moulting.  This also seems to make hens feel rather grotty.  Are there lots of feathers in the coop?

Have you checked for red mites and lice?  If she does not want to go back into the coop it may be because of that.

Have you wormed your hens recently?

If it is pecking order you may need to stand back and let the girls sort it out for themselves.  They can get quite nasty but standby with the purple spray!

Someone more experienced than I will be along with more advice.  In the meantime good luck and keep us posted! 

[Knight Family]

Wehad an Ex batt like that she used to always sleep in a tree. We found we had some red mites, but even once sorted she would still sleep in the tree until it got cold then she would go in side.

[Chicken Pete]

I can add that from recent message I sent, we added 4 new chickens to our existing group of chickens and it took a month for them to integrate with each other. For nearly 3 weeks the 4 very rarely ventured out in to the big chicken world,when they did there was lots of squabbles and in they would go!!!
However, just recently I walk past the chickens and notice 3 of them were amongst the others and very little notice was being taken of them, then 2 days later the 4th had ventured out and now they are all mixed in together.
Patience is a virtue but in all honesty I was really concerned.
Hope this might help
Pete

[Harviestoun Hens]

Thank you for all your messages - Lil went into the hen house last night, but seems to be losing more feathers than ever.  I'll try 'all the usuals' and monitor her.

Lynn

[joyfull]

I bet she is moulting - it is the right time of the year. Last year one of my tree dwellers stayed in the trees all winter (the rest had the sense to go into the coops), she just moved from the apple tree into the laurels. At the moment I have 11 chickens and 3 guinea fowl all living in the trees.

[Harviestoun Hens]

That's reassuring!!