Please help domestic violence

[steve102]

We have four white leghorns and one of them is the victim of domestic violence.I know I cannot stop the natural pecking order of this flock. I like this particular chicken and it bothers me to see her comb bloodied.
Please help, what can I do to help her?

 

[amenfarm]

do you have room to split the flock in two and leave them that way a few weeks? what are they eating? and do you have free choice calcium, oyster grit?

 

[steve102]

Splitting the flock would be difficult. They are all the same age. Food dishes are kept full with Oystershell's always available. She got beat up this morning while laying her second egg.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

How much room do your hens have, and are there places where the bottom chicken can escape to, and do they have something to do all day, there's always a bottom bird who gets pecked, your job is to make sure they have better things to do, things to climb on, scratch and seeds to forage for, chickens need way more room than the recommended square footage.

 

[steve102]

They have 12 ft.² in the run area per bird,I let them out to free range throughout the day when time allows. Maybe the idea of a scratch block would help. Some recommendations on activities for them while they're in the run would be appreciated.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Scratch, or some bird seed scattered, heads of lettuce or cabbages, grass clippings, slabs of hay, and sometimes I take a shovel and digs some holes for them to dig and pick in. Leghorns are nervous birds, lots of energy to burn off, that's probably why they are picking. Though sometimes it's that they need more protein in their diet, switching to a grower or something with more protein might help.

 

[aart]

Have they just started laying?
Hormones run high and new layers are anxious and a bit confused at first.

How big is your coop and how many nests do you have?