CHICKEN ADVICE REQUIRED

Birker2020

Birker2020

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Sorry to go on and on about these chickens but one of the four ex bats that we got on the 18th July from the BHWT is a bit poorly looking. It seems very quiet in comparison with the others. It is pecking at the ex bat mash, and drinking copious amounts of water and is also pecking at the grass but not eating the worms/slugs/mealworms the others seem to love. We are not sure if it has not got an appetite or it just doesn't know what to do with them. It seems to spend ages on its own away from the other three but the one tends to bully the others and I think it might be being bullied so is trying to keep away from teh others and not intigrate with them. It also keeps shutting its eyes from time to time slowly. It walks around okay and when we shut it on its own in the run - again away from the bully it seems to come alive and its comb appears to change colour from a darker colour purple to a light pink/purple colour. Could this be because its comb is going darker purple when it is stressed? Can chickens combs change colour in minutes? I know purple is meant to indicate heart problems. Could it be so stressed with its heart when the bully comes near it that its comb changes colour? Its vent is not swollen, it has no nose/eye discharge and is not low to the ground. Last night I thought it had died as it hid its face right down into the straw right into the corner of one of the next boxes but it was because it was trying to hide itself away from the others. Such a shame, will they get used to each other eventually???
 
one of my chickens was getting bullied and went through a stage of doing anything to get away from the bully, so i removed the bully! the bullied chicken starting getting a bold patch on its head so i put netex pecking spray on it which as stopped it so far, i found when i took the bully away and shut it in the coop the other chicken was very happy and wasnt desperatly trying to get out the garden. they seem to be fine now. have u seen any bullying taking place?
i havnt heard of combs changing colour? thats new to me
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i think i'd ring the BHWT and ask them what to do. there is a pick-me-up liquid you can get for general hen health, i got it for Little Hen Rescue when i got my last lot of rescues a few weeks ago, if you ring them i'm sure they would send you some. at least she is eating and drinking...
 
Yes Henny just walks and sometimes runs across to Parsley and then pecks her on the neck or back. Its such a shame. Doesn't always happen but a lot of the time Parsley is looking away very submissively whenever Henny looks in her direction. Such a shame as out of the four hens she is the nicest looking, better feathered than the others with a gorgeous mottled pattern on her back. They are all Rhode Island Red purebreeds. We thought about seperating the bully but the thing is we have no where else to put her, we only have one hen house and two runs (one attached to the other to make it bigger). If we stuck her in the one run and the others in the other run and it rains heavily and we are not around (both work) they will get drenched if they can't shelter. We could put somekind of shelter in the other run I suppose though.
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we had a crowd of about 8 chickens and two very controlling bullies. we took the bullies out and put them in a coop.

this allowed the other hens to sort out their own pecking order, and gain some confidence. then we let the less of the two bullies out, leaving the worst one locked away. after a few more days the big bully came out, but didn't carry on bullying anywhere near as badly as they had all established their roles in the pack whilst she was gone.

p.s. my friend is a regular rescuer of battery hens. and sadly, quite a few can't cope with the 'real' world and the shock of it seems to kill them. if this happens to your hen, don't be sad, because you're doing something amazing by giving them a chance at life. and the time they spend with you is guaranteed to be the happiest, most natural time they have ever experienced.

p.p.s. combs can change colour, but not sure how quickly. when ours get poorly, their combs go pink, when healthy, they're red. is your hen broody? does she want a quiet corner away from the bully to sit on some eggs?
 
Our chickens are always squabbling, there is usually one that is 'top of the pecking order' and acts like the cockerel that we used to have (never again!) I think if you separate the bully one of the others will become top hen and start doing it!
Our's are not in a run so they can get away from each other.

I think (in my experience) it's just chickens, it's the way it is with them!

There is also one that seems to sit away from the others sometimes at the moment, but she is ok, I will keep an eye on her.
 
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