Single hen

[chixandthecity]

Hello

 

Wonder if anyone can offer any advice.

 

We brought home two hens yesterday for our new Eglu. They are the only two. One is a White Star, the other a Maran hybrid.

 

The problem is that the White Star is visciously attacking the Maran both in and out of the Eglu. If the Maran tries to come out, the White Star chases her around the run and pecks her into a corner. The Maran's feathers are in a bit of a mess. If the Maran is in the house, the WS goes in and pecks her in there too. It's been about 36 hours since they came home, but the problem is getting worse. The Maran has hardly been out of the Eglu all day and hasn't been able to get much food or water.

 

We're getting a bit worried and would love any advice!

 

Thanks

Chix

[Egluntyne]

Are they the same age?

 

I'd put out extra food bowls as feeding can be a flash point until they all realise that there is plenty for everyone.

 

There is bound to be a bit of packing order skirmishing to start with.

[chickinboy]

Hi Chix,

 

When I got a White Star, and had the same problem, but as long as it doesn't get to out of hand, they should sort themselves out. They're known for being lively, but once they calm down they're lovely birds, you just have to do things on their terms. The white star would stop our goldline coming out of the house, and would barge her into the walls a fair bit. I recently introduced a black rock, and the biggest bluebelle I've ever seen, and that seems to have put the white star in her place fairly quickly. Egluntine is right - we put out extra food, and now the old two eat from one, the newbies from the other. We'll cut it down to one when they've chilled out a bit.

 

If it gets really bad, I think I read somewhere that you can buy sort of beak-bumpers so they can still sort out the pecking order without to much featherloss.

[chickencam]

I have a White Star and she has been bullied by my 2 Pepperpots but she also pulls feathers from them and out Light Sussex. She also pulls her own feathers out. She came to us with a clipped beak and we went to a poultry breeders last year where they had a whole flock of young WSs and they were all a bit threadbare, it seems to be a trait of the breed.

 

All of our girls are fitted with Bumper Bits from The Wernlas collection if you google them you will get their phone number and the bits are about 10p each paid for with a SAE and first class stamps. The bits are 'A' shaped and fit into their nostrils with the bar in their beaks and the point of the 'A' sticks forward of the front of their beak. They don't work as well on a hen that has been beak trimmed.

[chixandthecity]

Thanks for the advice about White Stars.

 

We let her out into the garden twice today to give the other one a break, so at least the Maran got some food and water.

 

I also bought some Stockholm tar and pasted it onto the Maran in the areas where she was being pecked. Only did this an hour or so ago, but when the WS pecked her, she was most put out by the taste and spent ages trying to get it off her beak! Perhaps this will do the trick.

 

Emailed the poultry farm and farmer has kindly offered to swap WS if she doesn't settle down - we'll give her a few more days anyway.

 

Right, off to put hte little darlings to bed (and our own little darling too!)

 

Thanks

Chix

 

[chickencam]

the upside to our white Star is that she is an egg laying machine she has had only a few days off since her first egg in September 2007 although her eggs are very thin shelled at the moment. I have tried telling her to take a break but she won't listen.