[aaronsundin]

Morning all ,
I have a 7 month old buff sussex bantie living with 2 orpington banties , also 5 other chooks including the cockerel in another coop . They all free range during the day and put themselves to bed in the correct coops at night . Just lately the buff sussex has been laying her eggs in the big coop and for the last 3 nights has moved in with the older birds  .I thought this fine , but this morning she has obviously been pecked at during the night , the feathers around one eye have been pecked out leaving the area red and raw looking , altough not bleeding . My first thought was to place her manually back in with her mates tonight , or would it be better isolating her in a seperate run until the wound heals ? I understand chooks may peck at anothers wound making it worse . I have a rabbit ark she could use in the area with the other coops enabling her to still see the other birds . Any advise most welcome ,
Stefan
   

[tizaala]

Yes, move her till it heals then put her back with her mates, make the nest area look the same as the one she favours and she should take to laying in it.

[chrismahon]

Echo Tizaala's comments Aaronsundin. Chickens are drawn to a bloody or bare area. Aside from the problems with the injured bird it can promote cannibalism. As long as she can see them and they can see her the pecking order should remain intact -position her as close as possible to the others.