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We have a Welsummer who is now 20 weeks.
She has been living with her brothers (3 cockerels) in my growers pen until this weekend.
I moved her (and the cockerel we are keeping) overnight into my main pen. In the morning, the cockerel was absolutely fine and being treated like he'd been there forever.
However, the girl has been consistently and mercilessly bullied and chased round the pen by all 15 chickens (girls and boys, including her brother). She hasn't been allowed near food or water, and when I went into the pen, she was squished under a log, in a teeny space.
She is very small for her age, and maybe a little underweight. Her comb hasn't even started developing or changing colour yet.
I removed her from the main pen; but didn't want to put her in her old pen, as the rest of the cockerels are starting to crow and get very boisterous.
She is currently in the 'baby pen' with my Barnevelders, who are about 15 weeks. She is larger than them (not by much), but isn't faring much better. They let her eat and drink, but don't want her anywhere near them generally.
I really don't know what to do with her. She is such a timid little hen and wouldn't say boo if her life depended on it.
I don't know whether I should just make her a pen of her own and let her be a single chicken for a bit, or move a cockerel in with her, and keep them apart. I suppose at least then she'd put on weight and be able to eat and drink at her leisure...
Any ideas?
She has been living with her brothers (3 cockerels) in my growers pen until this weekend.
I moved her (and the cockerel we are keeping) overnight into my main pen. In the morning, the cockerel was absolutely fine and being treated like he'd been there forever.
However, the girl has been consistently and mercilessly bullied and chased round the pen by all 15 chickens (girls and boys, including her brother). She hasn't been allowed near food or water, and when I went into the pen, she was squished under a log, in a teeny space.
She is very small for her age, and maybe a little underweight. Her comb hasn't even started developing or changing colour yet.
I removed her from the main pen; but didn't want to put her in her old pen, as the rest of the cockerels are starting to crow and get very boisterous.
She is currently in the 'baby pen' with my Barnevelders, who are about 15 weeks. She is larger than them (not by much), but isn't faring much better. They let her eat and drink, but don't want her anywhere near them generally.
I really don't know what to do with her. She is such a timid little hen and wouldn't say boo if her life depended on it.
I don't know whether I should just make her a pen of her own and let her be a single chicken for a bit, or move a cockerel in with her, and keep them apart. I suppose at least then she'd put on weight and be able to eat and drink at her leisure...
Any ideas?
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