Bully chicken- seriously evil

[smccuen]

And....if none of that works...begin with a gentle, but firm neck massage and then apply the following: hatchet, hot water, knife, more hot water. Then cold water, salt, pepper, garlic, celery stalks and a crock pot.
She is, after all, a chicken not a toddler in daycare.
And, of course, no offense intended.

 

[katsdar]

And....if none of that works...begin with a gentle, but firm neck massage and then apply the following: hatchet, hot water, knife, more hot water. Then cold water, salt, pepper, garlic, celery stalks and a crock pot.
She is, after all, a chicken not a toddler in daycare.
And, of course, no offense intended.

that's what I'm talking about

 

[Junibutt]

I have 2 ISA Browns/Golden Comet hens and a RIR. All of them are 20 weeks, I bought them together from a pet store when they were a day old. I have never seen them peck each other. They playfully fought each other like roosters when they were growing up but it was all drama no action. Never touched each other just posed for a fight. It used to be rather interesting to watch, when they would posture and then walk away from each other.

Now that I am introducing 2 SLW's who are about 4 weeks younger than them, I am really worried because I have seen one of those 2 SLWs constantly peck the other and each pick her feathers. Right now they are in a separate cage which I have placed close to the coop. Any suggestion? Shall I not even introduce them and just return them before I have any heartaches?

Also, the new ones stink pretty bad. I checked their poop and it was normal, I am wondering if I should let them play in some hot sand mixed with DE. Will that work?

Thanks for all your suggestions in advance.

 

[Elemental]

My Light Brahma is the sweetest chicken I have ever known. She loves my attention and stays at my feet every time I am in the run. But she was part of a second purchase and younger than the first group. She was bullied by the 4 Black sex links. I felt so bad. She and the other chicks were definitely on the bottom of the pecking order. but I met another person with a new flock and we traded a few chickens. I broke up the black sex link gang and the light brahma has grown into the protector of the younger or oddball chicks ( I accidently got a polish). I am so happy that she has grown big enough to protect her friends. The older chicks stay away from her and the young ones gather around her. The whole coop seems very happy these days. Plus the second rooster that my neighbor stuck in my coop (I was not happy about it at first) has turned out to be a real gentleman.

 

[Elemental]

BTW, the first rooster turned out to be stew. He was extremely abusive. The hens were scared of him.

 

[chooks4life]

Quote: Around here it's sold in raw dried form, granulated or powdered (I use granules mostly) and it's used for every animal, whether pet or livestock, and humans as well. The recommended dosage for a chook is one pinch per hen per day, which I add to their feed as I mix it (I make them wet feed with grains etc).

Extra nutrients in my experience lead to a very peaceful livestock keeping experience. It makes them calmer, friendlier, smarter, and much more sociable with each other. A lot of violence between chooks is likely due to their diets; when they're not getting everything they need, they often attack others because with a lower population there's more nutrients to go around. Chicks raised on kelp, whose grandparents and parents were also raised on kelp, show pink and red crests from a few weeks onwards, very easy to sex, and feather up rapidly. It seems to take about 3 generations to really show the genetic changes. Of course it does wonders for their health and anything that helps decrease illness is great. All healthy hens as well as roosters should have red crests, not pink, and they should never have bare patches when moulting, or lose feathers just because of mating. Kelp fixes all that and a lot more.

Quote: Good! It's a sorry state of affairs when a whole flock lives in fear and misery under the abusive domination of a worthless rooster. No matter how pretty he is, once he's proven his attitude is rotten, he has no business breeding because he's become unfit.

Quote: Sorry, it's a little hard to make sense of what you're saying... So bear with me if I've got it wrong...

One of your SLWs pecks the other and both of them pick off their own feathers? Or both birds are removing feathers from one bird?

Generally feather picking is due to a protein deficiency but chooks can also develop boredom-driven or inherited compulsive behaviors. If they're not drawing blood I'd think a larger environment would stimulate them into more natural behaviors. If they're drawing blood you need to probably cover the wounds with something not red colored and maybe separate the one doing the harm. Maybe separating the bleeder if necessary too.

Why do they stink? Were they raised in tiny cages in their own feces and have feathers saturated with ammonia? The cause of the stink is the issue, I'd guess. If you find that out and correct it they should stop stinking, depending on what's causing it. Bit hard to offer a good guess, need more info. Best wishes, anyway.

 

[foreverlearning]

I have 2 ISA Browns/Golden Comet hens and a RIR. All of them are 20 weeks, I bought them together from a pet store when they were a day old. I have never seen them peck each other. They playfully fought each other like roosters when they were growing up but it was all drama no action. Never touched each other just posed for a fight. It used to be rather interesting to watch, when they would posture and then walk away from each other.

Now that I am introducing 2 SLW's who are about 4 weeks younger than them, I am really worried because I have seen one of those 2 SLWs constantly peck the other and each pick her feathers. Right now they are in a separate cage which I have placed close to the coop. Any suggestion? Shall I not even introduce them and just return them before I have any heartaches?

Also, the new ones stink pretty bad. I checked their poop and it was normal, I am wondering if I should let them play in some hot sand mixed with DE. Will that work?

Thanks for all your suggestions in advance.

When you introduce them to each other again, and when to the flock, you want to do it at night as they are calmer. You might want to give them a vitamin/mineral supplement in their water and increase their protein level (black oil sunflower seeds or oats). Give them a good bath and blow dry them on low to get rid of the smell they have now, clean the coop really good, and keep an eye on them to see if there is more smell. You might want to identify what the bad smell is like and let us know, we could help you better if we knew more. Also, how much room do you have for the 2 SLW's? They do tend to peck and be mean if they are overcrowded.
Find out what is causing the smell BEFORE you allow them near your flock. The cause could be as simple as wrong diet, too small/unclean coop, or as bad as an illness. I had a problem with pine shavings (changed everyday) in my coop. I live in an area where the humidity is usually around 80% combined with high heat, that can make a coop smell within hours of cleaning. It smelt fine in the winter and spring but when it got 100+ with 80% humidity there was a problem so I changed the bedding type and no more problems.
There are just too many factors without enough information for us to narrow it down for you yet, please let us know more and we can help.

 

[Junibutt]

Around here it's sold in raw dried form, granulated or powdered (I use granules mostly) and it's used for every animal, whether pet or livestock, and humans as well. The recommended dosage for a chook is one pinch per hen per day, which I add to their feed as I mix it (I make them wet feed with grains etc).

Extra nutrients in my experience lead to a very peaceful livestock keeping experience. It makes them calmer, friendlier, smarter, and much more sociable with each other. A lot of violence between chooks is likely due to their diets; when they're not getting everything they need, they often attack others because with a lower population there's more nutrients to go around. Chicks raised on kelp, whose grandparents and parents were also raised on kelp, show pink and red crests from a few weeks onwards, very easy to sex, and feather up rapidly. It seems to take about 3 generations to really show the genetic changes. Of course it does wonders for their health and anything that helps decrease illness is great. All healthy hens as well as roosters should have red crests, not pink, and they should never have bare patches when moulting, or lose feathers just because of mating. Kelp fixes all that and a lot more.

Good! It's a sorry state of affairs when a whole flock lives in fear and misery under the abusive domination of a worthless rooster. No matter how pretty he is, once he's proven his attitude is rotten, he has no business breeding because he's become unfit.

Sorry, it's a little hard to make sense of what you're saying... So bear with me if I've got it wrong...

One of your SLWs pecks the other and both of them pick off their own feathers? Or both birds are removing feathers from one bird?

Generally feather picking is due to a protein deficiency but chooks can also develop boredom-driven or inherited compulsive behaviors. If they're not drawing blood I'd think a larger environment would stimulate them into more natural behaviors. If they're drawing blood you need to probably cover the wounds with something not red colored and maybe separate the one doing the harm. Maybe separating the bleeder if necessary too.

Why do they stink? Were they raised in tiny cages in their own feces and have feathers saturated with ammonia? The cause of the stink is the issue, I'd guess. If you find that out and correct it they should stop stinking, depending on what's causing it. Bit hard to offer a good guess, need more info. Best wishes, anyway.

Hi Chooks4life,

Sorry I confused you with my somewhat coded sentences. Here are more details and some updates. I purchased 2 SLWs to add to my existing stock and was going to keep them in a separate cage for a few days. I noticed that one of the two was constantly pecking on the other for domination and also picking her feathers. There were no bare areas on the submissive one though nor any blood. Both of them came from the same flock from a pet store that had raised them since they were a day old. The looked otherwise healthy but had crooked/curved toes (which I did not check for in the pet store). I was just very nervous about the pecking because my chicken do not do that.

The first night I kept the cage in the garage. When I went to open the garage in the morning, it was stinking pretty bad and it was not the same smell like the one I get when my coop has not been cleaned for a few days. Now that you mentioned ammonia like, I am not sure but you may be right. The pet store conditions were very clean and I could not smell the stink over there, however their smell may have been masked by the smell of aniseed that's part of the feed for the parakeets in the pet store. They were living in somewhat overcrowded conditions though, it was a wooden pen about 8 feet by 3 feet and 3 feet high, only the top was open and there were like 2 dozen 14 week pullets in it. I strongly believe that my place was the first time they saw unblocked sunlight. None of the pullets looked sick, ( I have been visiting this pet store every other week since they got these chicks and have never seen any sick ones). I live in Chicago and unfortunately this is the only pet store in my 30 mile radius that carries chicken, other ones don't carry them anymore.

Status Update!

Since I did not notice the curved toes at the store, I let the chicken out of the cage for about 30 minutes, to notice if they had issues with their gait. One was favoring her left foot a little and second one while walking fine, was avoiding running and using short flights instead. So that was it, I took them back to the store, the store owner only wanted to exchange the birds with the same breed I purchased, however for the trouble of going back, she did give me an Australorp for free. So in essence now here are the issues:

1. Constant pecking but this time its the Australorp more than the SLWs. (Maybe I am just nervous because I haven't seen it with my hens). I will try to post a video of it if feasible.
2. The new girls have the same stink as the ones I exchanged them with. I am going to leave them in an open dog cage for couple of days (only covering them at night) to see if it gets better.
"Foreverlearning" has mentioned giving them a bath which I will try, however its going to be hard because they are not comfortable with me right now. I may have to use some restraints!

When you introduce them to each other again, and when to the flock, you want to do it at night as they are calmer. You might want to give them a vitamin/mineral supplement in their water and increase their protein level (black oil sunflower seeds or oats). Give them a good bath and blow dry them on low to get rid of the smell they have now, clean the coop really good, and keep an eye on them to see if there is more smell. You might want to identify what the bad smell is like and let us know, we could help you better if we knew more. Also, how much room do you have for the 2 SLW's? They do tend to peck and be mean if they are overcrowded.
Find out what is causing the smell BEFORE you allow them near your flock. The cause could be as simple as wrong diet, too small/unclean coop, or as bad as an illness. I had a problem with pine shavings (changed everyday) in my coop. I live in an area where the humidity is usually around 80% combined with high heat, that can make a coop smell within hours of cleaning. It smelt fine in the winter and spring but when it got 100+ with 80% humidity there was a problem so I changed the bedding type and no more problems.
There are just too many factors without enough information for us to narrow it down for you yet, please let us know more and we can help.

Hi Foreverlearning,

I will try the bath and see how it goes and add some nutrients you mentioned. Right now they are in a dog cage 3 ft x 2 ft which is overcrowded but cant let them out yet because they will be a flight risk

. My main coup however is 12 feet x 3 feet which will give them a 6 Sq ft space for each hen with twice a day letting out for exercise and treats for 30 minutes each.

Thanks for your input and I will keep you guys posted! Let me know if you have any other suggestions.

 

[foreverlearning]

Hi Chooks4life,

Sorry I confused you with my somewhat coded sentences. Here are more details and some updates. I purchased 2 SLWs to add to my existing stock and was going to keep them in a separate cage for a few days. I noticed that one of the two was constantly pecking on the other for domination and also picking her feathers. There were no bare areas on the submissive one though nor any blood. Both of them came from the same flock from a pet store that had raised them since they were a day old. The looked otherwise healthy but had crooked/curved toes (which I did not check for in the pet store). I was just very nervous about the pecking because my chicken do not do that.

The first night I kept the cage in the garage. When I went to open the garage in the morning, it was stinking pretty bad and it was not the same smell like the one I get when my coop has not been cleaned for a few days. Now that you mentioned ammonia like, I am not sure but you may be right. The pet store conditions were very clean and I could not smell the stink over there, however their smell may have been masked by the smell of aniseed that's part of the feed for the parakeets in the pet store. They were living in somewhat overcrowded conditions though, it was a wooden pen about 8 feet by 3 feet and 3 feet high, only the top was open and there were like 2 dozen 14 week pullets in it. I strongly believe that my place was the first time they saw unblocked sunlight. None of the pullets looked sick, ( I have been visiting this pet store every other week since they got these chicks and have never seen any sick ones). I live in Chicago and unfortunately this is the only pet store in my 30 mile radius that carries chicken, other ones don't carry them anymore.

Status Update!

Since I did not notice the curved toes at the store, I let the chicken out of the cage for about 30 minutes, to notice if they had issues with their gait. One was favoring her left foot a little and second one while walking fine, was avoiding running and using short flights instead. So that was it, I took them back to the store, the store owner only wanted to exchange the birds with the same breed I purchased, however for the trouble of going back, she did give me an Australorp for free. So in essence now here are the issues:

1. Constant pecking but this time its the Australorp more than the SLWs. (Maybe I am just nervous because I haven't seen it with my hens). I will try to post a video of it if feasible.
2. The new girls have the same stink as the ones I exchanged them with. I am going to leave them in an open dog cage for couple of days (only covering them at night) to see if it gets better.
"Foreverlearning" has mentioned giving them a bath which I will try, however its going to be hard because they are not comfortable with me right now. I may have to use some restraints!

Hi Foreverlearning,

I will try the bath and see how it goes and add some nutrients you mentioned. Right now they are in a dog cage 3 ft x 2 ft which is overcrowded but cant let them out yet because they will be a flight risk

. My main coup however is 12 feet x 3 feet which will give them a 6 Sq ft space for each hen with twice a day letting out for exercise and treats for 30 minutes each.

Thanks for your input and I will keep you guys posted! Let me know if you have any other suggestions.

Pet stores in general are known for bad conditions for animals. You see story after story in the news all the time. Chickens love baths. They might be unsure at first, just hold their feet and when the warm water hits them they will calm down. Watch their head, mine tend to rest it on my wrist and fall asleep. The dog cage is too small, if you can't find something bigger than buy crickets and throw them in there. The crickets will help with boredom and help increase their protein level. If it is not cold there I would not cover them at night, this can increase any smell already there. I would say drag the dog cage outside for a little bit, if nothing else they can get a little fresh air. The short flights may not be a foot problem, it may be her screaming freedom. I have a pretty large coop and all mine get along now, but I have one that will fly like that every morning when I let them out. She walks, runs, and hangs out with the flock the rest of the day she just likes to fly in the morning. If they are a flight risk I have a great salutation that I used on an older rooster that was given to me (I free range). Take a brick (or something heavy) and tie a piece of yarn to it, then tie the other end to one leg of the bird. Yarn doesn't cut into their leg. They might not like it at first and pull at the yarn a little bit, but it teaches them "home". If you do all three at once make sure that the bricks are far enough apart so they don't get tied up with each other but they can still get somewhat close to each other. I did this for 3 days with my rooster then let him off, he hasn't flown to the fence much less over it since. check on the girls often while outside and if they get tangled on something just step on the string so you can get close and untangle them then pet quickly and let them be on their way again. I have found mine like to be talked to, they tend to peep back at me when I do and stay for pets longer.
For the one that does have a foot problem, look at the bottom of the foot for bumble foot, and check to see if the nails are too long (curving). There are salutations for both, if neither are the problem you may need to splint the foot. What did the pet store use for the bottom of their cage?

 

[chooks4life]

Hi Junibutt, hope all goes well with your chooks. I don't really have a suggestion as I don't know what causes the stink and it could be many things. I think the pecking may well diminish and stop with more stimuli than being in a plain cage all the time. More space, different things to see and do, all should help divert them from that behavior. Will be good to see how you go with them. Best wishes.