Aggressive male/females???!??!

[valentinetodd13]

Hello all.
We have 20 birds, well 18 now. And a lot of them are getting pecked on. To the point were they don't have back feathers and one has had blood drawn. We definitely had two males, which we got rid of today. There may be one or two more. But they are still too young to tell.
So they are 8 weeks tmrw. Mixed breeds, but we have 3 salmon favorelles and they get it the worst. How do we deal with aggressive birds if they are hens.
Anything would help
Thank you

 

[lomine]

I think you need to figure out why they are being aggressive. Some breeds are more aggressive than others but they shouldn’t be attacking each other for no reason.

Do they have enough space to get away from each other? Do they have to fight for resources (food and water)? Do they have places to go where they can get out of each other’s line of sight?

 

[keesmom]

What are the dimensions of the space where you are keeping them?

Post pictures of your questionable chicks. At 8 weeks some should be sexable.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Oh man that's rough.
That's really young to be drawing blood and acting out.

What breeds did you get?

Salmon favs are really docile from what I have read. That would put them on the very bottom of the pecking order. You may have to make a decision about keeping them in a separate coop or finding them a new home.

Dimensions of where you are keeping them can really be helpful in solving the issues you are having.

Adding pictures of your birds can help sort out the males. There are a lot of great experiences eyes on BYC that can spot males easily.

 

[valentinetodd13]

So I'll post pics shortly.
The coop/run area is a converted horse stall. The coop area with perches is 8ft x 11ft. The run is 18ft x 11ft. It's not a completely closed coop but there is a large wall to separate between the two areas. There is always plenty of food and water. I just hung another food jug to have two separate areas to feed.
In terms of birds we have 18. Salmon Favs, buffs, Rhode Island reds, black australorp, sex links, americanas, California white, a tiny Austrian something with a Mohawk and an unknown.
The unknown, a buff, and possibly one of the australorps are questionable for being male.

 

[Nksg75]

By the dimensions you posted it doesn't sound like they are cramped for space at 8 weeks old.
Have you been able to just sit and watch what is happening?
I'm curious as well. If they have enough feeders/waterer, then.. boredom?
That doesn't sound right though. What type of feed are you using?

 

[valentinetodd13]

So here are two pics of the unknown bird, white and brown and Larger then most others. One of the questionable male or fem buffs. And the front of the coop/run before it was finished.

 

[valentinetodd13]

I have chick starter for food. And I just got a big seed block and put it in there yesterday. I throw greens and weeds from the yard as well as old dry leaves to scratch through.
This is the first week in the coop. They were in a very large box in the house Until last Sunday. It took them a while to get comfortable outside. They were all scared. We had two males for sure and gave them away yesterday. But even with them we never really saw any aggressive behavior. We would see the normal puff up and peck that would last 2-3 seconds. But that was it.
The ones getting pecked are the 3 salmons, 1 sex link, 1 americana, and 1 black australorp. I'm talking most feathers on the back are gone.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Your white bird and your buff look to be males.

Since the move outside is so recent things could still improve.

You may need to get some fleece and make saddles to hide the bare backs.
A product called pick-no-more can also be applied.

http://homesteadbloggersnetwork.com/how-to-make-a-simple-no-sew-hen-saddle/

super easy to make.

 

[aart]

Did the pecking happen in the crowded brooder or after you moved them outside??
I'd lose the seed block and too many other extras.
They need all that starter nutrition, other foods dilutes that.