old chook

[raine]

Hi all, i recently inherited 4 chickens, one of which is very old. Today i treated her for scaley leg but when i put her back in the run she was badly attacked by the others.ive had chickens for a few years so ive seen them pecking each other or new comers but the old girl was flat on the floor and not even resisting.had to drag her out or i think the others would have killed her. As it is,i cant put her back now as her comb is bleeding but im not sure what to do or why it happened-is it just because she is weaker than the others? And what can i do now?
Thanks all

[elizajay]

Poor hen. Were the attackers the hens she came with or some you had before? If it was the hens she was with, maybe they think she is on her last legs and are hastening the process. I don't really know what to suggest. Are you sure she is old or is she sick and in need of treatment?

[raine]

They have been with her all the time. When i was given the chickens i was told that she was very old. She is slower than the others but eats and drinks fine,although i have noticed that she is the bottom of the pecking order. Trouble is,the longer i keep her away from the others,the worse its going to be so im unsure of what to do for the best.

[petal]

watch them, which is the top hen? remove her, isolate her instead then reintroduce after a week.
OR: sometimes keeping top hen with bottom hen separately for a week helps.
Hang up greens and cd discs to keep them busy and distracted- I say all this but I have NEVER seen this behaviour before - we have a cockerel in each pen to deal with nastiness- they simply don't tolerate it!!! by the way the best scaly leg treatment(in my opinion) is benzyl benzoate- amazing!!

[jessmorris]

Petal, can you get benzyl benzoate? My usual chemists can't stock it anymore and the vet can't get it either? I gave most of mine to a friend who lives in France as I know its hard to get hold of stuff there - now I can't get any!!

[petal]

hyperdrug.