Chicken Jail

[Tedd444]

New member and new chicken owner here looking for some input.

We have had problems with our Rhode Island Reds plucking feathers from other chicks and pecking to the point that they cause wounds with bleeding. Have re-homed two recently and have two left. All was good for a couple of days after re-homing the two. Then one of our remaining RIR started in on one of our Brahmas tail until is started bleeding. It also started pulling feathers out of one of the Buffs. Have the RIR isolated in the run. Pic below.

Run is 10’x23’. Coop is 10’x5’.
Greens from the garden are put in daily for pecking.
Drop in grasshoppers from time to time and earthworms from the bait store.
Don’t know what, if any stress factors are involved.

1. How long do you keep her isolated?
2. Is this the proper way to do the “jail” time?

Any input is appreciated.

 

[reluctant farmer]

New member and new chicken owner here looking for some input.

We have had problems with our Rhode Island Reds plucking feathers from other chicks and pecking to the point that they cause wounds with bleeding. Have re-homed two recently and have two left. All was good for a couple of days after re-homing the two. Then one of our remaining RIR started in on one of our Brahmas tail until is started bleeding. It also started pulling feathers out of one of the Buffs. Have the RIR isolated in the run. Pic below.

Run is 10’x23’. Coop is 10’x5’.
Greens from the garden are put in daily for pecking.
Drop in grasshoppers from time to time and earthworms from the bait store.
Don’t know what, if any stress factors are involved.

1. How long do you keep her isolated?
2. Is this the proper way to do the “jail” time?

Any input is appreciated. View attachment 2068805

Supposed to be out of site of others for 2 weeks, then reintroduce them. Good luck to you!

 

[Ridgerunner]

How old are they, all of them? It sounds like it could be mature chickens attacking immature chickens.

Did they grow up together or have you recently tried to integrate them? Looking for some background on them.

What sex are they, again all of them?

Could be different things going on. How to fix it will depend on what is going on.

 

[Tedd444]

They are all around seven weeks old and they were all raised together. All hens.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Thanks. I appreciate the quick response. That eliminates many things.

I've had a two week old chick kill a sibling and then start after another one. They were being raised by a broody hen, she did nothing to stop it. In that case the chick turned out to be a cockerel. It is a dangerous situation. I separated him totally from the hen and other chicks for a day and put them back together that night. He quit attacking the others after that. At two weeks I was concerned with him not having the broody to keep him warm at night. At seven weeks I'd probably have let him go two or three days and nights as heat isn't a concern.

I've isolated adults a few times, sometimes with success in changing behaviors, sometimes not. One of my goals is to eat them so I usually have little tolerance for bad behaviors that actually risks the health of others. I don;t want those breeding anyway. I understand your goals are different if they are all girls.

I'd probably keep the ones with bad behavior isolated and out of sight from the others for a few days and nights, then try again when you can observe. But in the end I solve for peace of the flock, not in favor of any one individual.

Good luck!

 

[DogAndCat36]

New member and new chicken owner here looking for some input.

We have had problems with our Rhode Island Reds plucking feathers from other chicks and pecking to the point that they cause wounds with bleeding. Have re-homed two recently and have two left. All was good for a couple of days after re-homing the two. Then one of our remaining RIR started in on one of our Brahmas tail until is started bleeding. It also started pulling feathers out of one of the Buffs. Have the RIR isolated in the run. Pic below.

Run is 10’x23’. Coop is 10’x5’.
Greens from the garden are put in daily for pecking.
Drop in grasshoppers from time to time and earthworms from the bait store.
Don’t know what, if any stress factors are involved.

1. How long do you keep her isolated?
2. Is this the proper way to do the “jail” time?

Any input is appreciated. View attachment 2068805

I heard that chickens have like a salt sac in their tail, I'm not sure though, but I have also heard that chickens love salt and that is why they peck at each other's tails. Maybe add a bit of salt into their diets, it would allways stop tail pecking for my chickens.

 

[GC-Raptor]

I heard that chickens have like a salt sac in their tail, I'm not sure though, but I have also heard that chickens love salt and that is why they peck at each other's tails. Maybe add a bit of salt into their diets, it would allways stop tail pecking for my chickens.

Recommended levels are very low. 0.2%
Just doubling to 0.4% increases water intake and wet litter.

GC

 

[Ridgerunner]

Sea gulls and many other salt water birds have the ability to handle larger quantities of salt and even drink sea water because of certain glands in their heads that separates out the salt,. Chickens do not have those. Most living animals need a little salt, but too much is dangerous. Chickens do not sweat through their skin, which is how mammals excrete excess salt. I would not feed them excess salt.

 

[SueT]

I had a bully RIR hen, that I kept way too long. She was vicious and incorrigible, she only got worse as an adult. This breed tends to be aggressive, from what I have read on BYC, account after account. If you want peace in the flock, you could rehome the troublemaker. I would rehome her to someone with older birds that would teach her some manners. The sooner the better.

 

[Acre4Me]

Since you have her, and can isolate her, I’d put her out of sight if the others for a while (days). They are still young, and pecking order will change. Generally females get more docile when getting close to point of lay (POL). Not always, but usually. After they start laying is a better indicator of long term behavior.

however, sometimes they surprise you. We’ve had numerous batches of chicks. They are in a separate brooder and get out into a fenced area of the run, physically separate from the flock for a bit, then we raise up the fence so the chicks can get in and out, but the big chickens cannot get in. Some of the flock chickens (usually one or two of The youngest pullets of the flock) will look to attack any/all chicks that venture out, and they will pace the fence! We will separate the Chick attacking pullets briefly and it usually helps calm them down. But chickens areflock animals with a strong, hardwired Brain that says to attack outsiders or the weak and establish a pecking order.