We had a turkey hen that was getting picked on like that and I ended up seperating her from everyone else. Chickens are essentially cannibals and they keep coming back to that smell of blood on the pecked hen. Not to say that your other chickens are trying to eat the wounded one, but since she's more passive she's at the low end of the pole. I would say either keep her seperate from all the others or get rid of her. I have no idea if there is anything like this around but there could be a product you could put on her comb to discourage pecking, like I said I have no idea but you could try looking on the internet! Good luck!

Try looking at your local grain store for no-pick lotions. It'll be faster than ordering online. At best they're a bandaid solution for a bigger problem, and are not cure-alls. Chickens can become cannibalistic, but it's for behavioral reasons, it's not diet related. They do not continue to peck because they smell the blood. Most birds have a very poorly developed sense of smell. You could seperate her for the time being to let her heal, but then it becomes difficult to reintroduce her back to flock later. It would be better to address the causes of the cannibalism, which almost always are overcrowding or boredom. Make sure that they have plenty of room, and have things to do to occupy their time. The internet is loaded with enrichmnet suggestions. Start with a few flakes of hay or stray for them to scratch through, maybe with a few handfulls of mealworms or other treat thrown in daily for them to search for. Provide visual barriers with evergreen tree limbs, or clean hay bales, or give them a head of cabbage to peck on. Cannibalsim is worse this time of year, because everyone is usually cooped up for the winter.

Patrick--

I think that boredom is the issue. The hens are used to ranging and since the snow flew they won't leave their pen. I'll have to add some new toys so that they can entertain themselves better until they're comfortable going outside again.

--Johanna

How much snow do you have? Have you cleared an area for them to forage? With the first huge snow, ours didn't venture out for days. This time around, the snow is coming down a couple of inches at a time. Right now there is an accumulation of about 6" and they are traveling all over the place.

The cold doesn't bother them at all. When it is real windy, they stay in, but the snow isn't setting them back at all this time around.

Roberta--

We had about ten inches, and while it has compacted some, there's been lake effect every few days to keep it "refreshed." I've opened their door every day, but so far none of them has opted to step outside.

I need to restaple the plastic over their window, so I'll take the shovel with me and clear an area, maybe they'll decide to venture out at least briefly.

I left a ladder in their pen for a new place to investigate, and maybe I'll bring some cardboard boxes in there so that they have some new places to climb on / hide in. Their pen in the barn has two rooms, four 4-5 foot roosts plus an old dog cage to roost on, an old kiddie pool that they perch on the edge of (no water in it!), laying boxes... I give them kitchen scraps most days -- yesterday they really enjoyed a banana. Sigh, I've tried to provide all they need...!!! But clearly this time of year some more articles of interest would help.

--Johanna