I hatched a chick in an incubator on 7/20/05. Since she's been ok without a heat lamp, I've had her in a crate on the back porch. I've been trying to introduce her to the rest of my flock(6 hens and 1 rooster). For a while she was too small and she would find a way to get out of the pen. More recently I've put her out there,(she can't sneak out now) but the other hens would gang up on her and peck at her back. The rooster (her daddy) would mostly defend her and step between her and the other hens. So i put her back in the crate on the porch and waited some more. She has grown quite a bit by now as you can imagine and is outgrowing her crate. Aside from the pen, I dont have anywhere else to put her. So again (10/14/05) I put her into the pen with the others. I watched her often on Friday and she seemed to be doing okay. Occasionaly the others would peck at her, but I assumed they were just etablishing "pecking order" and letting her know where she stood. She stayed all night in the chicken house. I checked on her twice throughout the night and she seemed to be doing great. At 1:30 in the afternoon on Saturday she was doing fine, so I left her there for a few hours while my husband and I took the kids to a local festival. When I returned home and checked on her, they had pecked a buch of feathers off of her back, she looked a little bloody and even a patch of her skin was missing and her muscle was exposed. Immedialty my husband got her out of the pen and put her back into the crate on the back porch. Needless to say I cried for her and apologized to her, but now I'm mostly just worried. First of all, I need to know how to help her heal. And second, I don't know how to get her into the pen without the others killing her. I don't have room for another pen or another chicken house. I love all my chickens very much (as do my kids), but she is my baby. Please help. My husband wouldn't hear of taking her to a vet.

i have no experience with chickens, but after all the other animals i have dealt with i would say to get her big and healthy before another attempt. i know you have said you dont have room for another pen, but something needs to be done. i would put up a temporary pen right next to the main one. that way they are exposed to her and get used to having her around, without being able to hurt her. just a little hutch box and a small area sharing a fence with the main pen for a little while is probably what it would take. like i said i have no personal experience with chickens, but they are still social animals, soo... i hope this helps.

I'm so sorry your baby was hurt. My baby Speckles is about the same age (born 7/8/05). He's also small for his age. Speckles was raised by his mother in the same pen as my other two hens and rooster but I put up a partition. You say you can't have another cage but can you divide that cage up?

Exactly what are the dimensions of your chicken house and run?
How old are those chickens (adult or young is fine)?
Can you divide the run up by throwing up some temporary chicken wire?
Can you buy/get a metal dog crate/kennel and put her in that within the main pen/cage/run? I've done both methods of separation where the chickens can't get to eat other but can see and interact with one another, hopefully getting used to each other.

Reading my experiences with Speckles at http://www.fishpondinfo.com/chicken2.htm may provide some ideas or at least know that you're not alone. Speckles is harassed a little bit but is okay. It's interesting that in both our cases, the rooster (daddy) was amazingly nice. Chickens of both sexes can be quite barbaric and will kill each other. Before letting the chickens together, your baby has to heal. That can be done in a new subcage if you set one up (dividing up your run I mean). To treat the injuries over the counter, just rub some Neosporin in the wounds once a day. If she tries to eat it, iodine may be better (if you can find it) or perhaps hydrogen peroxide to sterilize the area. I had a hen once who was attacked by hawks, and she got stitches at the vet. Keep an eye on the wound. If infected, she'll need Baytril pills. A trip to the vet for an exam and Baytril would probably run at least $60.
If after she heals, you just toss her back with the others, she will get torn up again. If she survives that, they might accept her but it's risky. Introduction needs to be more gradual so they can see and hear each other before having actual contact.

I hope she gets better!