4 hens ,ganging up on my other hen what to do about it ????

[ruthiiieee]

hi im new to the boards ,,

i have a problem ,we have 5 hens and 4 of them seem to be ganging up on one smaller hen(but not the smallest),we have had them together from the begining ,we bought all 5 of them about 6 months ago(they are about 14 months old) and they have lived in harmony up untill now ,,they have plucked all her back feathers out and will peck at her for no reason as we can see ,they are all healthy and laying ok ,,we have moved her out today for her own safety as they also seem to be blocking her from the food and water,,
is there a reason why this would happen ,

thanx for any help ruthiiieee x

 

[akcskye]

Well, hens do establish pecking order...but to be ganging up on her so hard does seem to be a bit extreme.

Are they drawing blood?

If so, it could be a nutrient deficiency.

An old timer at the feed store told me if they ever pick to the point of drawing blood, to feed them some raw hamburger and that will stop the problem.

Never had it happen to me yet, so I don't know if that's 100% true...but I guess it couldn't hurt.

 

[Bawkadoodledoo]

welcome to byc!

try throwing some dry catfood in their run or coop, it has the protein that they might be needing, seeing they''re picking feathers.

 

[da-cajun-angla]

the only thing i know to do is give them food items to keep them busy...maybe hanging cabbage or letuce on strings...chicken scratch for them to peck at...keeping them busy and occupied will help.
shaun

 

[arlee453]

Also, adding an extra feeder and waterer may help too - so she can get to the feed while the others are at the other feeder.

Do you feed a lot of scratch/corn or treats? Sometimes that can cause an imbalance in their diet and they will feather peck and eat the feathers due to protein deficiency.

Once a chicken has a raw spot from pecking, that just attracts more and more attention and they will often just peck her raw.

There are products also that help coat the skin and discourage pecking. Do a search on Blue kote and/or 'sap' and there is lots of information here.

oh, and welcom!!

 

[ruthiiieee]

hi all
thanx for all your replies i will try the replies and see what happens

thanx again ruthie xx