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Poor little hen

Our Delaware hen, Lily, was brutally pecked yesterday. I don’t have a place separate that I can keep her. So, I cleaned her up and sprayed her so she didn’t look as red (hoping the hens would stop). No such luck. She was practically scalped this morning. I bathed her wounds and treated them. To keep her safe, I put her in the horse barn. It was the only place I could think of. We don’t bring chickens into our house. Not with our dogs. She’s doing better tonight and the pony doesn’t seem to mind sharing. The horses are only in at night during poor weather.

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I don’t know a thing about chickens, but I’m sorry this happened.

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Aw, poor girl. Perhaps confine her in a dog crate.

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Chickens are the direct descendants of Velociraptors :t_rex:
Pecking Order is a Real Thing in a flock :dizzy_face:

@moonlitoaksranch Lily s/b fine in the barn.
Friend cared for a flock.outcast kept in a horse stall. Sadly this was an empty barn, but friend visited barncats twice daily & interacted with the sole hen, bringing treats.
After a couple years, hen was successfully integrated back into the (now larger) flock.

Was it this BB that had a poster whose horse had s companion hen?
Pics posted showed hen perched on horse’s back :smirk:
IIRC, hen was named Teriyaki :face_with_hand_over_mouth:

I named my Delawares Salad & Noodle :roll_eyes:
Also had a Black Star named Xtra Crispy :relieved:

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Poor Lily!

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Oh the poor thing. Chickens are amazing and terrible animals at the same time - they can truly be brutal. Hoping this was a one off, and she can heal and return to her flock.

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If the pony decides it does not want to share I will second the dog crate suggestion.

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Thanks, guys!

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I just love how you tucked her little feeder in the corner behind the bucket.

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Thanks, I took it out before I left the barn last night to keep pony mouths out of chicken feed. Little hen should roost at night anyway.

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Ugh yes I call my chickens little dinosaurs, sometimes it’s awkward affection, sometimes it’s because their behaviour is appalling.
Many years ago I had a young one get scalped by an older hen. Her comb tissue actually grew in to cover the wound so she had an interesting red scar extending from her comb. We renamed her Rocky. Her chick friends never bothered her and once she was healed I reintegrated all of them with no issue.

Unfortunately this winter I lost a pullet to the dinosaurs. One of my hens went broody in August, I don’t have a rooster so I got three fertilized eggs. One hatched out. Broody hen was a good mother hen and kept her chick safe and protected her longer than the average mother hen would have. Pullet was understandably at the bottom of the pecking order but seemed to be doing fine and was roosting with the flock at night. Unfortunately once winter came and they has less space tempers starting running high and I came out to find the pullet dead in the run one afternoon. She would have been around 12 weeks at that point. Sometimes chickens are terrible.

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You might try these: chicken glasses

Chicken eyeglasses - Wikipedia

Amazon.com: Chicken Blinders Chicken Peck Plastic Pet Chicken Eyes Glasses No Pin Bolt Anti Pecking Goggles Eye Glasses Farming Equipment Chicken Spectacles Pack of 20 : Patio, Lawn & Garden

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With luck, your chicken should be fine in the stall. We had a rooster, who moved into our barn from next door. It was a wise decision on his part to make this move. He had two favourate mares, who he spent a lot of time with. Both mares really enjoyed his company. They would tickle his comb with the upper lip. He would bed down with either one of them at night. Had him for years. From what I saw with him, chickens can make good pets for horses.

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:rofl:
I know the theory behind these, but all I can picture is @moonlitoaksranch hen dressed like this:
(These are a real thing :laughing:)

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I keep an eye on FB Marketplace for dog crates, you can frequently snag one for $5-$10 depending on size. I have quite the selection for chicken containment now :slight_smile:

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:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Those are awesome.

We have a dog crate, but they get so nasty with a hen. She’s doing well in the horse stall. I think the pony might get to like her little friend.

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Lily is enjoying her vacation from the brutes. She’s also having a good time eating the dropped feed and leftover hay from our mostly toothless pony.

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She may never be able to go back with the other chickens. Once they start on one it seems they never stop, even once all the damage has healed. It just seems they can sense something inferior in the chicken at least that has been my experience.

Hopefully your experience ends up better but at least she is happy with the pony :slightly_smiling_face:

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If she’s happy with the pony, she can stay with the pony.

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