Chicken bald back

[Mar1a]

Before we went on hols, my girls all got on perfectly. We put them in boarding while we were away and ever since, one of my girls has become a horrid bully she picks on two of the others, one very much more so than the other. She will go out of her way to go and pick on her

 

She so wasn't like this before we went away.

 

Would putting her in broody jail in the big run work? I've read that taking her out of the equation for a few days should do the trick but I'm not in a position to be able to bring her home into my garden - both my landlord and my cat (not to mention the other cats in the neighbourhood) we both work full time and can't be here to keep her safe.

 

Little miss bully has pretty much stopped laying. I thought at one point she might be starting to moult as there were lots of ginger downy feathers around but I've seen no sign of that for a couple of weeks. The hen she's picking on the most is a shadow of herself there hasn't been any blood yet but it's only a matter of time before there is.

 

Do I have only the two options of broody jail or re homing?

 

[DaisyAndBobby]

You say she has stopped laying? What were they being fed whilst at their holiday boarding? She may have a protein deficiency which may explain the lack of eggs and she could be going after feathers for the protein.

 

I would consider stopping all treats or anything that isn't their layers pellets and yes, I guess it wouldn't hurt to isolate her in a broody cage if you can for a few days with plenty of pellets.

 

Id try that for starters, I hope you manage to sort it. We leave ours in their broody cage in the big run when they are broody for three days and nights and they are fine. Just ensure food and water.

 

Hope that helps. Let us know how you get on.

[Mar1a]

We supplied their food so know they were eating the same as they normally would

[The Dogmother]

I would either isolate her or fit a bumpa bit. Odd change in behaviour, did they have less room at the boarding facilaity?

[Mar1a]

Yes, they had much less room so I dread to think how bad it was while they were there

 

In my defence, we had absolutely no idea that this could or would happen if we had even an inkling, there is no way on this earth that they'd have gone there

[The Dogmother]

No, I totally understand. I wouldn't mind betting that it's a combo of the close quarters and the new surroundings.

 

Have a good look at the bully - check for lice, which would irritate her and make her more grumpy, see if she has lost weight or has any other obvious signs of injury.

 

My plan would be to give her at least 3 days in The Crate of Shame, in the run amongst the others, then fit her with a bumpa bit before letting her out.

[Mar1a]

Just to update - both miss bully and her victim have been throughly inspected and no evidence of anything that shouldn't be there, although a pulsating vent is something that I hope not to have to see again for a long time!

 

We kept miss bully separate from the others today. The one she's been picking on was like a different girl! So laud back and chilled out we let bully out for 20 minutes before they went to bed, but not before using anti peck spray on the other one. She was a bit tense and miss bully seemed very withdrawn but there were no problems Tomorrow will be a repeat of today and hopefully, she'll behave herself. I want to wait and see if this works first before going down broody cage route - with the changing clocks, I won't see them during daylight hours during the week

 

I watched one of my girls lay her egg today. Absolutely fascinating!

 

And boy do my girls love pumpkins

[The Dogmother]

That sounds promising, do be careful though that she's not bullying early on before you let them out.

 

the vent should be pulsing, and I'm afraid to say that you should be seeing a lot of that when you give them their fortnightly health checks

 

At the risk of sounding like a killjoy; do limit the amount of pumpkin they get as it will cause digestive issues... just a tiny amount at the end of the day so that they get the most nutrients from their pellets.

[Mar1a]

She's been in jail 3/5 days so far this week.

 

But we have noticed a weird sort of pattern. She's only laying about once a week. On the day she lays, she's as chilled as a chilled chicken! I've noticed it like that for the last three weeks.

 

Am I clutching at straws here or is there an actual correlation?