Chickens pecking at other Hens vent

[vantain]

See attached photo. One of my hens is having soft shelled eggs issues, and likely it is related to reproductive issues. This has been going on for over a month with this hen.

Today she is acting fairly normal, but I have noticed she is being pecked by the others now in her vent area. This is likely due to her continually expelling soft shelled eggs, and the other hens think she is some kind of food factory for them now. They continually peck at her backside, and it has become sore, has scabs, and is bruised looking, being purplish in color.

I noticed too that she has some sores inside the vent area as well, probably due so being pecked inside the vent itself.

I know I should probably separate her from the others, but she hates that so much. What should I do in this case? Pen her in a dog crate in the coop with some food and water of her own till she heals? Does she need some antibiotics or something?

This poor hen has been through so much this past month, and now this.

 

[vantain]

Note that she does have some purplish vent feathers. This is from me putting Blue-Kote on her backside once a couple of weeks ago for other reasons.

 

[vantain]

Also..sorry about the duplicate thread..not sure why it posted twice.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

See attached photo. One of my hens is having soft shelled eggs issues, and likely it is related to reproductive issues. This has been going on for over a month with this hen.

Today she is acting fairly normal, but I have noticed she is being pecked by the others now in her vent area. This is likely due to her continually expelling soft shelled eggs, and the other hens think she is some kind of food factory for them now. They continually peck at her backside, and it has become sore, has scabs, and is bruised looking, being purplish in color.

I noticed too that she has some sores inside the vent area as well, probably due so being pecked inside the vent itself.

I know I should probably separate her from the others, but she hates that so much. What should I do in this case? Pen her in a dog crate in the coop with some food and water of her own till she heals? Does she need some antibiotics or something?

This poor hen has been through so much this past month, and now this.View attachment 1738303

Yes, you need to separate her otherwise it can get really ugly! They might just tear her vent apart. Go to your hardware store and buy some metal stakes, zip ties and some chicken wire if your run is big enough just make her a little section so she will still be with them until she heals.

 

[vantain]

I went to TSC and got some Pick-No-More. I put it on her vent area, and that seems to have stopped the pecking from the others. I guess they don’t like it?

I will keep an eye on her and see if the others resume pecking. If they do, I will separate her in the run during the day.

She’s back to being lethargic right now, so it looks like yet another egg mess is on the way.

 

[vantain]

So..something is definitely wrong with this hen. The others must be sensing it, and harass her continuously. No one is outright being hurtful, but they push her around, and even prevent her from scratching at the ground or eating/drinking. I need to continuously keep the Pick-No-More applied, since without it, they do peck her vent.

She is also being more lethargic again today.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

Did you give her the warm Epsom salt bath and the Tums? The Tums should help her right away, it always works when that happens with my chickens. If this soft shell egg situation goes on too long, she may get an internal infection. Then there will be not much you can do for her.

 

[vantain]

Did you give her the warm Epsom salt bath and the Tums? The Tums should help her right away, it always works when that happens with my chickens. If this soft shell egg situation goes on too long, she may get an internal infection. Then there will be not much you can do for her.

This soft shelled egg issue has been going on for over a month now. I think it's possible she already has an infection. I had her on Baytril a few weeks ago, so maybe I should do another round of that with her?

 

[SurferchickinSB]

This soft shelled egg issue has been going on for over a month now. I think it's possible she already has an infection. I had her on Baytril a few weeks ago, so maybe I should do another round of that with her?

I had a Wyandotte that was doing that when she first started laying and it went on for about a month and I was really worried. I didn’t give her antibiotics but the bathing and especially the Tums worked right away for me. She is fine now but sometimes on occasion it starts again and then I give her Tums for a few days.

 

[vantain]

I had a Wyandotte that was doing that when she first started laying and it went on for about a month and I was really worried. I didn’t give her antibiotics but the bathing and especially the Tums worked right away for me. She is fine now but sometimes on occasion it starts again and then I give her Tums for a few days.

I have been giving her additional calcium every day for the last month..it hasn't helped one bit.