Help reintroducing bullied hen to flock

[Chickiesandkitties]

I would appreciate any suggestions for how to reintroduce our Cochin hen. I separated her from our flock of 30 hens and 4 roosters a couple months ago when I noticed she had lost a lot of feathers and had started sleeping on the ground below the roosting bars. Took her to the vet who said her butt was abnormally enlarged but he couldn’t identify what was wrong. So we kept her separated and some of her feathers grew back and she still likes to sleep on the ground(now in a dog crate / makeshift nesting box). She’s with 3 other hens we added because they looked sick at the time, but all look healthy except for some diarrhea on their butt feathers. It’s starting to get cold out so I want to put them back with the others in the coop at night (they are in a roofed enclosure but no protection from wind). Late this afternoon I let them out to free range with the other girls and within a few minutes a hen challenged our Cochin and the both flapped their wings, but then the Cochin turned and went back into the enclosure and hid in the corner (the video). The other girls held their own better, just wanted to go back into their enclosure about an hour later. I’m worried she’ll get bullied by reintroducing her but it’s starting to hit mid 40s in the middle of the night so I’m worried leaving her out. Any suggestions for how to reintroduce her or what else to do? I have limited ability to monitor/watch them because they live on an adjacent property and I work during the day. Any advice would be greatly appreciated

 

[Mrs. K]

I think I would keep them separate. 30 hens and 4 roosters are quite a few chickens, and would be curious how they get along. Are they Cochins too, or are they other breeds? Sometimes you get a bird that just does not fit in the flock, I am wondering if that is the case here.

I would not put her back there and expect a different outcome. I think I would either sell her or cull her from the flock.

Mrs K

 

[Chickiesandkitties]

Thank you so much for the advice Mrs K, I will try to see if someone will take her or if we add a proper mini coop to that separated section so she has more protection as it gets to winter. We have far more chickens than I would have ever wanted, but we took them all on after someone made a hasty purchase and we didn't want the chickens to be neglected. The hens are a mix of standard brahma, standard black marans, standard black laced red Wyandotte hens, silver duckwing jungle fowl hens, silver spangled hamburg hens, 2 standard cochins (one of which is the girl in question), and a bantam rhode island red. The roosters are 2 laced red Wyandotte roosters, a bantam black cochin, and a bantam rhode island red. They have always gotten along very well and I've never witnessed any aggression between the hens before this (from time to time one of the wyandotte roosters chases the other away when he tries to mount a hen). Even the cochin in question seemed fine with everyone else - she wasn't shy about getting in the group for treats. The only strange sign was that she would just sleep on the ground underneath everyone and was missing so many feathers. It's only now that I tried to re-introducing her that I witnessed the bullying and her runing away and to hide. Fwiw, my husband thinks she's just highly non-confrontational.