Blood on Hens comb!

[HenGirl805]

My hen Nixi has blood on her comb! I know it was from another chicken but I was wondering how to stop the hens from pecking each other til they bleed! They started laying eggs and Nixi seems to be a little more broody and motherly. Does that have anything to do with it?

 

[HenGirl805]

 

[chickens really]

Do you have a Rooster.....?
If so its from him mating....

 

[lazy gardener]

How many birds? Dimensions of coop and run? Set your run up so it has plenty of multi height areas, and out of sight areas, but no dead ends. This will allow her to move away from her aggressors. Give them a bale of hay to scuffle around in, as well as other compostable material to shuffle through.

 

[HenGirl805]

I have 5 hens. I don’t have any roosters because they are illegal where I live. The coop we have is made for 9-10 chickens because I would like to get more. They are not free range because my friend had hers free ranges for a day and 5 out of 7 got taken by hawks and raccoons! So I don’t have enough room for a bale of hay. I am sorry to be rambling on! I have seen one on the other hens peck but I didn’t think she would peck this hard!

 

[HenGirl805]

Do you know how to make her stop? I don’t want her to make the other bleed too!

 

[rosemarythyme]

So I don’t have enough room for a bale of hay.

We really need dimensions for run and coop, crowding is a top reason for chickens picking on each other. A run too small for a bale of hay to keep them busy is probably too small for 5 chickens. Also is there anything in your run? If you can't make it bigger it helps to have spaces for a chicken to hide or to put distance between herself and the others.

 

[HenGirl805]

I can get you the run dimensions in a minute but keep in mind they aren’t big hens at all compared to most.

 

[HenGirl805]

12ft X 6.5ft
The height is 5.5ft

 

[lazy gardener]

We also need the dimensions of your coop.