Chicken PMS? 1 chicken very aggressive to other chickens.

[HotNoob]

Hi,

20x browns.

so, two of my chickens have started laying now, but the first one to start laying has become very aggressive since she started laying ( 2 days ago ).
the aggressive chicken has always been "grumpy" looking, and is a bit different looking than the rest.
she has a more blonde-ish or yellow color than the rest, always has.

since she started laying 2 days ago she has been attacking any other chicken that gets remotely close to her. especially when she is eating or foraging.
she is also very... chicken horny? the slightest touch anywhere and she goes into the "passive" stance.

plan to get roosters & other breeds next year.


AFAIK she doesnt get aggressive until she is in the wild, outside of the coop / run.
she her self has some bite / peck marks, but ive only ever seen her attack other chickens and not the other way around. so i donno.
pretty vicious pecks / bites at the other chickens; really holding on to whatever she bites on them.

the weather has also suddenly gotten cold in the past 3 weeks, from 20*C to average of -5*C. at the end of the week it will be 10*C (so its some sort of cold snap).
coop is 8x8, today was 50% humidity, about the same as outside. there is some snow still on the ground, so isn't much to forage right now.

after the fight, she pecks furiously at the ground, kind of reminds me of someone eating because they are mad.

so today i locked her in the coop while the rest of the flock is out; at first she cried for 10 minutes or so, and then calmed down. opened the door an hour later, 3 hours later she rejoined the flock. was ok for about 30 minutes then she started attacking everyone again. so, i've put her back in the coop for now. when she is in the coop alone she calms down a lot, and just sits there, but will eat food and water if i give her some feed.

gave her a bit of charcoal, grit, and limestone to peck at incase she ate something bad / is nutritional.

she is just very angry towards the other chickens. any ideas on what to do?
i'm not really equipped to separate them at night if that becomes a problem.

 

[aart]

Yes, chickens have hormones and they run high as they come into lay.
Yes, they will squat on the ground when their backs are touched showing they are ready to be mated.
8x8 is kinda tight for 20(?) birds?
What all and how exactly do you feed them?

 

[HotNoob]

right now 16% layer ration, prior to the cold they did get a lot of bug and grass ect...

in the morning and evening, a metal feeder in the coop, during the day they broke into a bag in the garage... so... letting them go through that till its empty.

with the metal feeder, the small stuff builds up, so ill throw that in some a container \w water every few days, and then they eat that up.

 

[aart]

in the morning and evening, a metal feeder in the coop, during the day they broke into a bag in the garage... so... letting them go through that till its empty.

So they don't usually have feed available all day long?
If not, they should.
Maybe not PMS but rather HANGRY.
How long have they been on layer feed?

 

[HotNoob]

they have feed all day, just when they run outside, they often run into to the garage. there they eat it right out of the bag. and then i have to bring them water cause they don't wanna run back to the coop / run for water.

the angry one was eating a lot of rocks today. though. why i thought to give some charcoal.
last day of the cold snap, so if it was the weather should end tomorrow.

--
for coop size, i have an extra 12 sqft through a second "floor".
will be 3 levels when i get a chance to move things around.

so, 64sqft + 24sqft.
the hatchery said 1 and 1/2 sqft per bird. but many other sources say 3sqft.
so far, i've never seen any fighting inside of the coop. always happens outside.

 

[aart]

the angry one was eating a lot of rocks today. though. why i thought to give some charcoal.

They need digestive granite grit....hard and sharp stuff.
Charcoal won't replace that, but they may find adequate digestive grit on the ground.

 

[DesertGrrl]

Does your flock have an outside run that is bigger than 88 square feet or free range?

I have only a desert style open coop that is 100 sqft and a lot people on here told me that I should only have like 8 to 10 standard chicks in if my birds don't free range nor have a bigger run to go to.

 

[DesertGrrl]

Also, I hear that pecking could be from feed that is too low in protein.

Try A feed that is 20% protein, like Purina Flock Raiser and add oyster shells in a seperate container on the side.

 

[HotNoob]

the run is 560 sqft and they are let out of the run around noon till sunset, where they have as much space as they dare to venture.
i have a pile of gravel with sizes from sand to pebbles for them to pick through in the winter.
it's comprised of limestone and granite (quarts/silica), traces of iron, copper, and another metal that I'm waiting for an analysis on.
grit is also in the feed, so don't think it's grit.
when chickens get sick they tend to eat a lot of grit to flush out their system, that's why i gave charcoal. if it was poising of some sort, the charcoal will neutralize it.

---
this morning the grumpy one layed a full sized large egg, about twice the size of the first two. she seems to have calmed down a lot, but will see.

started snowing as well, so they will probably stay inside today.
---

i have some bags of 17%, hatchery said 16%.
i'll see if i can get some high protein treats for them before the road closes up for the winter.

 

[DesertGrrl]

Then yeah go with a higher protein like 20%.
That's what I'm planning to do when my chicks get older/laying age.