- Apr 21, 2013
- 19
- 1
- 24
Hi everyone,
First I want to thank you all for your kind assistance and words of encouragement. (Remember, I'm a chicken "newbie," with absolutely zero experience!) At any rate, the remaining 18 chickens are now outside, in a pen that is 24' x 4'. I say "remaining," because right before I had the posts dug and the roof built for my coop, they started picking on just one bird, to the point where its back was devoid of feathers and bleeding. I immediately put that bird in isolation for about a week, until its back had healed, and I could see new feathers starting to emerge. By this time, I had the majority of my coop built, so I re-introduced that bird to the remaining flock, which were now outside. I even stood there for a few minutes, just to make certain that they weren't going to pick on him anymore. All was well when I fed them around 7:00 p.m., but when I went out there the next morning, the bird in question was laying on its side, dead, and had been pecked so badly that there were no feathers nor skin left on the portion of its body that wasn't facing the ground! I provide them with unlimited food and water, and they have more than five square feet per bird. So my question is, what would prompt them to peck to death one of their own brothers or sisters?
First I want to thank you all for your kind assistance and words of encouragement. (Remember, I'm a chicken "newbie," with absolutely zero experience!) At any rate, the remaining 18 chickens are now outside, in a pen that is 24' x 4'. I say "remaining," because right before I had the posts dug and the roof built for my coop, they started picking on just one bird, to the point where its back was devoid of feathers and bleeding. I immediately put that bird in isolation for about a week, until its back had healed, and I could see new feathers starting to emerge. By this time, I had the majority of my coop built, so I re-introduced that bird to the remaining flock, which were now outside. I even stood there for a few minutes, just to make certain that they weren't going to pick on him anymore. All was well when I fed them around 7:00 p.m., but when I went out there the next morning, the bird in question was laying on its side, dead, and had been pecked so badly that there were no feathers nor skin left on the portion of its body that wasn't facing the ground! I provide them with unlimited food and water, and they have more than five square feet per bird. So my question is, what would prompt them to peck to death one of their own brothers or sisters?
