# A hens blues



## Jabberwocky (Oct 7, 2013)

Our two easter eggers are the bottom of the hierarchy. We have five hens.. The top hen is a New Hampshire Red. The other two are Red Producers.

The way I figure it. She tried to break into the upper ranks and had her little chicken butt handed to her. It must have happened early in the morning before I went out to open the house and feed them. She had lost some of her tail feathers as a consequence. She is otherwise fine.

She was fighting out side of her weight class to be honest. But I guess she had to try. She is now in the lower rung. Far below the rest of the flock. the other easter egger is still her companion and shows no animosty towards her. 

What ever happened. Her tumble to the lower rung was quick and done.


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## minmin1258 (Nov 5, 2013)

Awe poor baby.


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## 7chicks (Jun 29, 2012)

My RIR's rule the roost then the barred rocks. My australorp, and australorp mix along with my ameraucana are all at the bottom. They are known for being more docile breeds. My sebright banty, well she cleaned the clock of the big bad RIR her 2nd day here. Little squirt just fits right in somehow.


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## Jabberwocky (Oct 7, 2013)

An unfortunate update.

When i got home from work this morning. My wife informed that she had gone out to feed this morning. She found that the easter egger had her feather torn out. 

So I went out checked her. She was hurting and in shock. The wife moved had moved her to the shed. 

Poor thing was a sorry looking. For now she will remain in the shed. Let out when I get home to browse. Until she grows those feathers back. Then we will see about reintroducing her back to the flock. The wife will make sure she is fed and watered.

My wife will do what she can. As she has degenerative arthritis and helps me with her mother. There is just so much she can help with at one time.

In the mean time it is just hoping the poor thing makes it through the night. **SIGH** 

As this is literally the first year doing this. So any suggestions?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Pull the New Hampshire out of the flock. Put her in the shed for several days where she can't be seen. See if that changes the dynamics within the flock. If it doesn't its time to rehome that one hen.


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## 7chicks (Jun 29, 2012)

Chickens can be brutal to each other. Mine were so awful with my Australorp that I ended up having her as a house pet at night for 6 months. Once she got some age on her, size to her, and a buddy, she made her way in. During the day, I had her in a tractor coop and kept it in line with the big coop so they could all see each other. I had put up a little board that she would hide behind on occasion too so she wasn't always in sight and being stressed. I also free-ranged her with the others when I was home and able to be right there. When she was ready to be in the big coop, I was so worried for her. She was determined though. Made her a separate perch and that worked wonders for her. It took a lot of time and patience but worked out fine in the end.


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## Jabberwocky (Oct 7, 2013)

Well she is doing better. Her eyes are bright and shiny. Healthy. She was not real interested in getting out of the shed. She still seems a little weak on her feet. But she does eat and drink. Is able to get around on her own.

She still squawks good and loud too.

Our Rescued Racing Grey Hound (Logan) stuck his nose in to the shed curious as to what this was all about. The hen squawked and moved quickly to a corner. By the way her name is Anise.

The dog looked confused. In his world an animal (namely cats) does not run from him. 

So he backed off and went to the door to be let back in. Where he contemplated this over his bone.. LOL

I told the wife this morning. For now Anise looks like she will live. Until she grows her feathers back fully. She is going to live in the shed. Then we will see. 

At the same time.. I am looking at the number two bird in the flock (Henny Penny). A Red Producer as the likely culprit. 

The General our New Hampshire Red. She may run the flock. However Henny Penny is quick to use her beak on the two easter eggers. The General would not go into the coop last night. She kept looking for the missing hen. She would run out of the coop. Go to where they take their dust baths. Then run back into the coop. I finally had to shoo her into the coop. A first. Then close the coop up for the night.

The reason I suspect it was the Henny Penny. Since making it to number two spot she has not been what I would call stable. The fight with Anise the other day. Did not make her disposition any better. Though she might want to watch herself.

I have not processed a chicken since I was 20 something working on a farm. It might just be time to relearn how to do it again. Just saying....


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Tomorrow put General in the shed with Anise, see what happens. 

If you believe its the number two bird then put that one in the shed for a time out.

Right now with Anise removed from the flock she's sinking in to stranger territory and will not be welcomed by the flock at all.


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## piglett (Jun 21, 2012)

process the nasty one ....problem solved
there are some many sweet hens out there that would live to live in your coop & provide fresh eggs
why keep a nasty one around?



good luck
piglett


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## Shann0 (Sep 19, 2013)

I would suggest removing Henny Penny to the shed. By removing Anise, she will have a harder time getting back into the flock without a issue. And perhaps the time alone for Henny Penny will make her more appreciative upon return and show less aggression. Also, if the General is not picking on Anise, I would try to keep them together and by removing the second in command, will change the flock dynamic a bit and you might notice Anise sticking closer to the General for protection, especially once Henny Penny returns. Or just have a nice Henny Penny dinner lol. I have only had chickens since this past spring, but I have had horses and worked with them my entire life. And when you have to adjust a herd dynamic to protect the lower rung, with 1000lb+ animals that can cause serious (and expensive) damage to one another, you tend to get a pretty good feel for fixing the problem. Good luck! Keep us updated! Oh and PS get some blu kote or a similar product, I used and still use Peck Stop when one of my hens was attacked (not by her flock but some kind of animal) and lost feathers, to keep the others from pulling even more feathers from her as I learned on here that once a chicken has lost feathers, the others are tempted to peck them, especially during regrowth. Right now my hen is at the point where her feathers are growing in and all of the quills are just started to poke out of the skin, and apparently that is the tasty part that most chickens will go for. I put the Peck Stop on her every night, and she has not lost any more feathers.


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## Jabberwocky (Oct 7, 2013)

Apologies for disappearing.. I work retail and for the last few months my schedule went a little haywire..

Anyways up date on Anise. Doing great.. Feathers are growing.. Did put Cinnamon the other Easter Egger with her. Both are a lot more relaxed today. I am letting them free range in the back yard. They still live in the shed. Have not gotten around to processing Henny penny. Work schedule did not leave me a lot of time. She may get a reprieve as I am expanding the run. I am looking for a larger coop. Plus adding a roo as well. 

Now that Christmas season is over. My schedule will go back to normal. I will have the time get things done at a good pace.

Thank you for all the kind suggestions. It was and is appreciated.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I think having the lack of time might have made things easier. The two girls were together and formed a ban. Henny was given a reprieve for now and if she resorts to her old ways just might benefit from a time out in the shed by herself.

One thing I'm wondering, you mentioned a larger coop? Could confined spaces be the reason for the issues you were seeing?


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## Jabberwocky (Oct 7, 2013)

The coop it self is able to hold up to 6. However the coop was poorly designed and lacks several things It has a shelf for nest boxes. but no way to hang feed or water. It very open to the weather.. Though I did use plastic sheets. To keep the weather and wind off of them during the winter. It is only about 3-4 feet width. 6' length. with about a 6' height. There is no real place for the hens. I had ti cut an opening in place to give an opening for the hens. 

The set up is not a good one in my still learning opinion. I will post a photo tomorrow or the next day...

The run is about to be expanded. As soon as it warms back up to above freezing . It's all of 26 degrees currently in this small corner of Arkansas. 

Could it have sparked the the whole fiasco? Possibly. But they were all living nicely all through the latter part of the summer through the fall. When Henny penny took over and all 'ell broke lose.


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## piglett (Jun 21, 2012)

Jabberwocky said:


> The coop it self is able to hold up to 6. However the coop was poorly designed and lacks several things It has a shelf for nest boxes. but no way to hang feed or water. It very open to the weather.. Though I did use plastic sheets. To keep the weather and wind off of them during the winter. It is only about 3-4 feet width. 6' length. with about a 6' height. There is no real place for the hens. I had ti cut an opening in place to give an opening for the hens.
> 
> The set up is not a good one in my still learning opinion. I will post a photo tomorrow or the next day...
> 
> ...


it sounds like you need a few rafters & some sort of roof on your coop
who do you know who is handy?
the rafters will also be a great place to hang feeders & waterers from & i'm sure your flock will thank you.

good luck
piglett


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## Jabberwocky (Oct 7, 2013)

Good news/ bad news.

Lets get the bad news out of the way..
Cinnamon caught a virus. She just never really recovered. was blind in both eyes. Was rapidly losing weight. I tried a multiple of things. The area does not have a real farm vet. The factory farm has them all it seems. So in the end nothing that I tried worked or was helping. 

I finally euthanize her.. I did do a necropsy. but it didn't tell me anything that I didn't already know.

That was two and a half months ago. 

End of last month my wife and i went down to local farm show. brought home a Appenzeller Spitzhauben (now called pepper)and a roo that was reportedly a Blue Andalusian. I suspect he is a mix. Named Alan a Dale(Yes after the roo in Robin Hood)

Not that it matters to me if he is mix. i am not breeding. I bought him as a last ditch effort to keep Henny Penny the psycho hen in line. After a two week quarantine.. Henny penny tried her trick on him once.. ONCE!. The look he gave her was priceless. If he called talk. He would have said, 'Try that again and there is going to be a hen. That is going to get her butt kicked all over this coop.'. No more going after other hens for her or her buddy Babs.. 

Well the wife wanted to add two more hens this past week.. I said fine. Picked up two more hens. A Maran and another EE. Both are in quarantine. Alan does not like this and makes it plain that I am denying these hens his full attention.. LOL

Alan is now 9 months old. Is in great shape and we foresee a long useful life for him. He does exactly what I would expect from a roo. Keeps the hens in line. Makes sure that all get his attention and that none are left out of the goodies. He even steps aside to allow the hens to get the best goodies. Lets the nearest hen know when he has found a choice bug, worm, or goodies in general.

As an aside. Alan really does not have any perceptible favorite. However, Pepper has decided that she is going to be his favorite any ways. When he is not other wise engaged in doing his Roo thing. Relaxing and watching the yard. She is right there trying to get as close to him as possible.. The little hussy.. LOL

So, yep, every thing Jabberwocky back yard is peaceful and calm.. Now to design a larger coop.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Well, that sounds like it worked out well. So often adding a roo can make things worse. 

It almost sounds like Cinnamon had Mareks.


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## Jabberwocky (Oct 7, 2013)

It could have very well have been mareks. Just happy that it did not run through the entire flock.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I think there might be more resistance out there in individual birds than is recognized. I've raised chickens a long time and have never seen a death due to Mareks and I don't vaccinate.


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## piglett (Jun 21, 2012)

the only time i had sick birds is when i got chicks from the feed store

NEVER AGAIN!!!

i had them mixed with a brooder full of chicks i hatched at home

i had to keep all of them in there for 30 days 

a couple died but most did pull through


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## Jabberwocky (Oct 7, 2013)

robin416 said:


> I think there might be more resistance out there in individual birds than is recognized. I've raised chickens a long time and have never seen a death due to Mareks and I don't vaccinate.


As i said I have no idea what it might have been. Just relieved and happy it did not run through the entire flock. though I wished it had never occurred.

Later this week our two newest come out of quarantine.


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