[troggy]

Hello, I wonder if anybody could suggest the best way forward re a problem we are having with one of our hens.

Unfortunateley 3 months or so ago my boldest and best egg laying bird met with a tragic accident ( killed by next doors dog) we replaced her with a POL hen same breed etc, but from the off she has been a tad timid although she eats well and has grown well. The problem now is the new bird, even though she was introduced to the other established hens carefully 12 weeks ago, continues to be pecked and harrassed both inside and outside the run by 2 or 3 of our other birds, she never stands her ground or fights back, just legs it and hides. She shows no signs of laying or in effect making any progress in intergrating.

Is there any hope for her or will she , as my wife suggests be best turned in to a roast dinner and we start again?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Troggy

[Jellyhead]

To stop the pecking you could try Tea Tree cream or the gentian violet horsey spray. Other chooks hate the smell and taste. Once they have stopped pecking at her she may come out of herself a little bit. I would give that a go before you get the paxo out

[troggy]

Many thanks for this idea, sounds as if it could work, we have some T-tree oil in the bathroom cabinet, will give it a go.

Interestingly,  putting on scent has the opposite reactions on wife, the only time she pecks me is when I smell nice!

Troggy

[Jellyhead]

   

[chicken soup]

  I had the same problem with a silkie she was a lone hatched chick and when she was old enough put her with some of my established hens.  She didn't intergrate at all infact she landed up with bare wing/bottom patches.  So when we got the allotment this year decided to move four birds up there in a coop.  None of them had ever met so I thought it may work out but no.  The cockerel decided to peck quite a gash on the back of her neck so she came home again to mend.  We had tried the purple spray and stockholme tar which had helped but obvously not elimintated the problem.  Anyway after a bit of tlc and recovering from her neck wound she is now living happily I might add with another silkie and two bantam araucanas.  She has only laid me a handful of eggs in the last year and still not laying now but it goes to prove that not all hens get along.  She needed to find the right friends. Hopefully peace will rein now but it has been a long journey.  Now I know this is a long post but I just wanted to point out that maybe your lonesome hen needs another friend before returnng to the established flock (ok any excuse to buy more hens   )  But I wouldn't give up on her yet.

[chickenlady]

we too had a problem when we first brought Roastie our amber home, my little girls set on her and she spent the first day in the coop making pityful noises and looked very lonely, hubby who saw them all set on her the next morning said go get her a friend so at least shes not alone, so along came Paxo who had shared her pen where i bought them. 3 weeks later thay all get along great!! so there is hope, and like chickensoup says, a friend may be a good option (strength in numbers and all that   )

[troggy]

Minnie Tanks for your suggestions above,  I will try the Tea tree idea first to see if the bullying hens stop pecking her, if not, as we do have room for another hen we could buy another mature hen which hopefully will team up with her rather than join the 'dark side'  more poo though, oh well.

All a bit annoying really as our previouse Blue Bell hen was such a good layer and had a great personality.  Amazingly, the errant dog totally ignored the other hens, and  continues to do so on the occasions he pops over our fence or the hens his to scratch around next doors fruit orchard, he just took a dislike to my best hen for some reason?

Troggy

[T C]

when the spanish introduce a new hen to the clan, they make a large cage, put the new hen in it, in with the other hens, as so they get used to the new hen, ive been told that it can take a few days, or even a week, but they say it works without the hen being pecked upon

[Ian Harding]

Wow! I've just joined the site and already I'm hooked.
We have had Hens for many years and seen this on frequent occasions.
Usually when introducing new birds it is best to do it in plural. Provide seperate shelter so the new intake are not at the mercy of the established hierachy and allow visual contact. Slowly introduce the new birds in an enviroment large enough for there to be mutually acceptable "territory" Chickens from our experience often start laying once they are contented and it may require the addition of an extra bird and the removal and subsequent  gentle re-introduction of your last bird who currently doesn't feel too happy. We have seen birds start relaying after 12 months!
Good luck