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mayflower

pekking order or poorly hen?

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Hi, Had our 5 ex bats hens since Saturday night, and although Sunday was a docile day, Monday was not. I recognise they are sorting out who will be top hen, and apart from one intervention, where one hen was refusing to let the others out of the cube(got them in the run and closed cube door, all hens started to feed) I have tried to leave them to it.

At midday, one of the healthiest looking hens apart from her lopsided wattle, Annie, is standing in the corner of the run trying to sleep...putting her head under her wing. Also her head is slightly twitching. Another hen has come out in sympathy with her and standing close, like she's comforting her. Another hen is picking at her tail but, Annie is making no movement , just standing there. I've phoned a store which sells Poultry lifeguard. Apparently, you add it to water and it is for hens in a poor condition. The store is a distance away and we wo'nt get there today. In the meantime any advice please?

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It might all be stress related...she has had a massive change of circumstances and might be feeling a bit overcome.

 

Are you confident enough to handle her? It might be worth examining her to make sure there is nothing obvious going on.

 

All you can do really is observe, make sure that she is not being prevented from eating or drinking, and wade in with a broom if the bullying gets nasty.

 

Any other symptoms?

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Hi thanks for your reply. No, there does'nt seem to be any other symptoms, and it's really sweet how Suki is protecting her. I think I'll take your advice, and tonight pick her up and see if there are any other signs. I have a sneaky feeling that Annie was the one that went beserk when we took her out the box and put into the cube. By the time we got home it was dark, so I'm not certain, but I'm sure she's the one. So it would make sense that it's probably due to stress. You know, people really do not realise how these little hens suffer until they actually see the result of small confined cages.

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