BUM PICKING TIL BLEEDING OCCURS

[Northern Quebec]

What the? This bum picking started a three days ago. Of my seven chickens, FIVE are being pecked to the point of bleeding. Even those that are bleeding are pecking the others now. I've never seen or heard of this and I need your help to try and resolve the issue. I've tried placing the peckers (2 of them) in a large dog cage but the picking continues amongst the five others anyhow so what's the point? Anybody know why and especially HOW to stop this? Blood is literally dripping off of them!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

What the? This bum picking started a three days ago. Of my seven chickens, FIVE are being pecked to the point of bleeding. Even those that are bleeding are pecking the others now. I've never seen or heard of this and I need your help to try and resolve the issue. I've tried placing the peckers (2 of them) in a large dog cage but the picking continues amongst the five others anyhow so what's the point? Anybody know why and especially HOW to stop this? Blood is literally dripping off of them!

I'm sorry you're having trouble.
Can you post some photos of the chickens and their housing (inside and outside - also sqft of how much space they have)?
What type of food/treats do you feed?
How old are they?
How long have you had them?

Have you treated those that are bleeding, looking to see if there's blood feathers that need to be plucked or if they are continuing to bleed?
Picking can be from a number of things from nutritional deficiency to lack of space. Are the chickens molting?
Have you checked for lice/mites?

I have never used it, but some posters recommend using Pine Tar to cover wounds and help to deter picking. That's something to consider doing, but you still need to try to figure out the "cause". Hopefully with more information and photos we can offer more suggestions.

https://extension.psu.edu/poultry-cannibalism-prevention-and-treatment

 

[ValerieJ]

So sorry to hear you are dealing with this! Wyorp Rock has you covered with the necessary questions and answers. I'm just here for emotional support. Haven't dealt with this myself, yet, so hope to learn through your experience.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

By bum, do you mean pecking specifically at the vent or just the rear end of the bird in general?
If it is the vent, are your roosts arranged so a bird on the lower roost has easy access to the vent of the bird on the roost above? That will be tempting.
I had a bit of cannibalism one year with a large flock of 14 week old birds. They would lay around in a group around dusk and start picking right above the tail. I thought I had rats eating them till I caught the birds in the act. I added some fishmeal to their feed and gave some canned mackerel and the problem went away.

 

[Northern Quebec]

I'm sorry you're having trouble.
Can you post some photos of the chickens and their housing (inside and outside - also sqft of how much space they have)?
What type of food/treats do you feed?
How old are they?
How long have you had them?

Have you treated those that are bleeding, looking to see if there's blood feathers that need to be plucked or if they are continuing to bleed?
Picking can be from a number of things from nutritional deficiency to lack of space. Are the chickens molting?
Have you checked for lice/mites?

I have never used it, but some posters recommend using Pine Tar to cover wounds and help to deter picking. That's something to consider doing, but you still need to try to figure out the "cause". Hopefully with more information and photos we can offer more suggestions.

https://extension.psu.edu/poultry-cannibalism-prevention-and-treatment

Thanks for reaching out. I've looked into chicken peepers and ordered some from amazon.ca but they won't reach me until Monday, Dec. 9th. We're far up there...
In the meantime, I'll be calling an agricultural co-op at 9am this morning to see if they stock peepers. It's 90 minutes away but it will time well spent if they have them.

This all started Nov. 28th. It's very recent. It coincides with the dip in temperatures. In the day, I let the girls out and they wander around scratching at what little gravel they can get at. But now the snow is covering everything and we're into minus 18 and minus 20 celsius mornings and minus 9 and cloudy daytime temps so they step out but step right back in. Fair enough. They decide.

I'm seriously beginning to think this is a crowding issue. I have 7 rust-coloured hens living in an enclosed run measuring 8' x 8'. I'm including photos. At night they climb into their insulated, heated coop where they sleep on one of two perches. The coop measures 40" 40". No crowding there. Their laying boxes are annexed to the coop. (See photos) The window in the coop is a thermopane with gas to keep the cold out but the light in. The laying boxes are insulated as well. In the summer they have an exterior run that they play a lot in but no access to that in the winter for obvious reasons.

There is also a photo of the girl with the worst condition. She's the last one in the pecking order. Unfortunately just before snapping she pooped big time. She now has pretty severe diarrhea. I gave her yogourt yesterday. Should I continue? I have segregated her and another hen in the heated shed for their own protection. Although the second hen tries to peck at her, I either prevent it or she has enough room to get away. The other hens are still in the coop/chicken run battling it out.

My girls will be 1 year old in February 2020. I feed them grain from La Co-op Fédéré which has a minimum of 17% crude protein. Their treats include chopped cabbage, hot oatmeal, grapes, pumpkin halves, sunflower seeds, millet, table scraps like pasta, rice, etc. They molted in October and while they molted, I fed them sardines.

I've checked for mites and such. Nothing found.

Thanks again.

 

[chickens really]

Hello..Over crowding not enough protein or the Coop is to brightly lit is a cause of pecking in Birds.
Stop all extras and feed only the balanced chickens feed. Turn off the light..

 

[Wyorp Rock]

This all started Nov. 28th. It's very recent. It coincides with the dip in temperatures. In the day, I let the girls out and they wander around scratching at what little gravel they can get at. But now the snow is covering everything and we're into minus 18 and minus 20 celsius mornings and minus 9 and cloudy daytime temps so they step out but step right back in. Fair enough. They decide.

I'm seriously beginning to think this is a crowding issue. I have 7 rust-coloured hens living in an enclosed run measuring 8' x 8'. I'm including photos. At night they climb into their insulated, heated coop where they sleep on one of two perches

I have segregated her and another hen in the heated shed for their own protection. Although the second hen tries to peck at her, I either prevent it or she has enough room to get away. The other hens are still in the coop/chicken run battling it out.

I feed them grain from La Co-op Fédéré which has a minimum of 17% crude protein.

Space might be your biggest issue.
Do they have access to the open area during the day too? Mine won't walk on snow, but if I sprinkle straw down, then they will venture out a bit more.

The girl that is injured the most - you had mentioned she pooped before you took the photo. I hope that is poop, not pus. I know it's difficult to clean them up in winter. I would wash that one area and make sure the wound is healing well. Also, hard to tell, is her leg joint swollen too? I have that circled.

With 2 out of the coop area, have they stopped picking at each other? Nice looking coop/run by the way!

 

[Eggcessive]

Good eyes @Wyorp Rock picking up the swollen hock and the goop under the vent!

 

[HeyHeyWW]

I agree with everybody else. It's an issue with overcrowding. If you have too many chickens in and not enough space, they will start pecking each other.

Chickens will always be picking on each other. Which is why they need a lot of space to run away from who they are being bullied from. I suggest that you expand the coop or get rid of some of your chickens. I'm not saying you should eat them! Give them to someone who wants some chickens.

 

[Eggcessive]

There should be a minimum of 28 square feet in the coop for 7 full size chickens, with each hen having 4 quare feet of room. Here is a good article about pecking and cannibalism:
https://poultry.extension.org/artic...ibalism-in-small-and-backyard-poultry-flocks/