AUSTRALIAN POULTRY FORUM™

Glad your flock has a new Alpha hen maybe she will be more fair and just. Sadly, a submissive hen at the bottom of the pecking order will always be a submissive hen, they have I dare say suffered a fair bit of psychological damage that sticks in their memory banks that render them timid.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=16881&p=119640&hilit=will+a+submissive+hen#p119640

Hens and Hobbits, so true. HP's behaviour of constantly moving away and hiding from Fleck suggests that she is psychologically scared by Fleck's relentless attacks. Fleck is showing signs of her old self. Although she rejoined the flock in a lower position she is has the same personality ie aggressive bully. During feeding the other chooks will nudge, lightly peck and make noises to show dominance over HP. Fleck has no such chooky etiquette and will viciously chase HP away until she is finished. Although Fleck is no longer chasing HP constantly I have decided Fleck is going back into chooky changi for another stretch, this time at least two weeks or maybe a month. The articles I have read suggest a month or more, so I think I was a little hasty letting her out after just a week.

Ouff strict authoritarian!

You go Chicken Girl.

Love that you are being firm about Fleck and keeping her in check! (ooh I just rhymed! )

Have been following your story & also learning from your experience & what others have to say.

Love this forum. So Chookin' good!

hate to annoy you wickedwings, but, I removed Caramel from the hens for a few days and now all my hens are closer than 2 peas in a pod, but hey my chooks aren't normal

No worries buffy, good to hear your chooks are all happy and comfortable.

thanks

Hello;

It's been sometime since I posted an update.

You may recall I had issues with 6 chickens I inherited from a poorly looked after coup. One (HP) was small and was lowest in the pecking order and Fleck was a crazy hen that seemed to attack all the others in the flock.

Fleck who was the main bully was segregated for 2 weeks and reintroduced with 100% success. She is still a little crazy but has settled into the new pecking order very well.

HP (Hen Pecked)

Unfortunately HP who was continually harassed by the others, died after a few days. She became listful, quiet and refused to drink, although she did eat a few seeds now and again.

I took HP to the vet who discovered her feathers were thick with mites. I sprayed her that evening (and the rest of the flock) and she picked up for a few hours the following morning. I then had to bring her inside as the others were tormenting her. I mixed up an avian potion supplied by a local wildlife carer and administered this very carefully with an eye dropper and syringe. Nothing seemed to work and she keeled over and died later that evening. Quite an upsetting experience, as I was rather attached to this small, awkward chicken that had a good personality.

I conducted an autopsy (done medically) and photographed the various internal organs. Her frame was very light and her crop full of seed. The internal organs, especially the liver exhibited small lesions. Fatty globules were attached to the outer part of the organ.

I had intended to send the photographs to an avian veterinarian, in the hope they may be able to provide an idea to why HP died. However, finding an avian expert is no easy matter!

HP was buried in a favourite area she used to hide and scratch about in (see attached picture)

The flock of five is very healthy, well looked after and fed high-end food (they eat better than I do).

Thank you to those who proved advice – your time is appreciated. Chicken-girl

So sad I am so sorry the grave look wonderful and I had to comment as it reminded me of my precious girl I lost 1 year ago called betty she was a close part of the family

Best way in the future is to get any vet to perform an autopsy and run tests to determine the cause of death. They can send sample to experts in that field

hi all
i have had the same problem with ,my 2-3 month frizzle who is kinda scraggly and is bullied by some other chickens her own age. right now she is with a rooster who is friendly but she peeps at lot. is it something i should be concerned about??
Thanks
chooklover101
p.s sorry for your loss chicken girl[smilie=sorry.gif]