Chickens pecking each other: How do I stop them?

[Birdsong 82]

My goodness they’ve put you in a tough situation. You sure are a thoughtful babysitter too. The Barred Rocks don’t have a spot on them.
The pinless peepers on the Barred Rocks will immediately solve the problem. However without former practice you’ll need help putting them on and then especially make sure the Barred Rocks are eating and drinking with them on. They need bowls for that, not regular bird feeders.
The flock block is a good idea too..,it’ll take those BRs a few days to chow through that but they’ll be busy all day or so full they won’t have time to peck feathers.
Something I was thinking was borrow a tall dog X pen or get some tall chicken wire and separate the Barred Rocks from the others in the closed pen they are in. Gotta be secure and safe though, and have food and water on both sides, chickens are masters at getting in dumb accidents.
Or take two big wire dog crates if you have access to them and separate those BRs from the rest in the pen. Put the crates in the secured pens, away from the sides in case that fox wants to try anything.
Does this whole experience make you want to get chickens? Hahaha...

I had to separate 2 hens once because the were just mean. Being New Hampshire reds they wanted assert their authority young but slowly getting better. I heard separating the bullies for a week or so starts pecking order over but I don’t know... mine were young but in this situation the issue would return due to space. Even keeping them for eggs they need the proper space to be healthy to lay. Pecking can get worse causing severe injury over time. Measure the coop sf and then the run sf. That will help determine the amount that will be happy and healthy in the area

 

[Birdsong 82]

Good call. It would be good to check for mites or lice.

It is possible they have lice and or mites and are trying to pick the bugs off of themselves.

Putting something on their backs is not going to stop them from picking.

Adding more room will.

I think you should save your $20 and use it for something that you need and not waste it on something that is not going to solve the problem.


There is no particular good laying breed that is going to do well in any coop that has less than 4 square feet floor space per bird.

 

[Birdsong 82]

Sounds as though you were put in bad situation. How long are you chicken sitting?

 

[Birdsong 82]

Not on topic but I bet the BYC peeps would love to see some chicken art!

 

[Kathy Golla]

Ya but Kaseys just the sitter. She needs short term solutions, it’s not her job to solve this long term for the owner.
Obviously the owner had something they were doing like supervised free ranging that was keeping this problem at bay. That’s for the owner to reconcile when they get back.
Short term kaseys just trying to figure out how to make sure the red hens aren’t completely bald when the owners return.

 

[Birdsong 82]

Ya but Kaseys just the sitter. She needs short term solutions, it’s not her job to solve this long term for the owner.
Obviously the owner had something they were doing like supervised free ranging that was keeping this problem at bay. That’s for the owner to reconcile when they get back.
Short term kaseys just trying to figure out how to make sure the red hens aren’t completely bald when the owners return.

Completely agreed. That’s why I And most feel bad for the situation she’s in. That’s why I think separation would be a option for short term. I thought it didn’t start till her friend added the BR. I must have misunderstood. But these suggestions could be made to her friend if its a concern when she returns

 

[micstrachan]

I personally don’t think the run looks all that bad, especially if they get a little free range time. What are the dimensions, roughly? Is there a folding chair or something you can put in there to add some entertainment? I have had great success entertaining my flock by putting a few shovels full of fresh earth into the run or a bunch of rice hulls to dig through. Anythingvthey can scratch through will help. Can you also provide a protein treat like tuna fish or sardines from a can?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I understand you are in a bad situation and you are limited with what you can/can't do since you are just watching these birds for a friend. It sounds like you have around another 20days before they come back home.

Pick No More or Blue Kote can help hide redness and provide antiseptic/healing to any broken skin/scrapes ect., they will not resolve/prevent the picking and overcrowding.

Sometimes there is no easy fix. Run and coop expansion or reducing the number of birds in that space are the 2 best solutions to this particular situation. Re-homing the Barred Rocks would likely help, they are both in the best shape feather wise, sell them on Craigslist as a pair since re-homing is stressful enough and they will have a buddy. Alternatively, they should make a nice meal, but I'm not a fan of just culling a healthy laying hen that has a few more years of production left in her.

As for the pecking the hands harder during treat time, pecking at your freckles/toes, etc., that is not that unusual, but if it's a problem, then just scatter treats broadly and stop hand feeding. Barred Rocks, ime, are food driven. These 2 are top girls, they will be more pushy than the others, this is part of the pecking order/flock dynamics. Given enough room some of this "unwanted behavior" will go away.

Pinless Peepers you can try those as a short term fix until the owner gets home to make some difficult decisions.

 

[KaseySnow]

Does this whole experience make you want to get chickens? Hahaha...

Absolutely! I like solving practical problems like this and making things better. It's teaching me so much about chicken ownership and I'm getting to educate my boyfriend on it too since he goes with me when he can and wants a little homestead someday as well.

Thanks so much for all of the tips! I have access to one dog kennel, maybe I can try isolating just one at a time and see if the pecking gets better until the Peepers come in? I've not got anyone to help me though, eek! I might have to ask one of her neighbors to assist in holding her. I've watched some videos about putting them on and it definitely looks like a two person job.

I saw that one of the hens had some blood on her this morning and am really worried about cannibalism now. Her saddle had fallen off so I fastened it back on her (those things never seem to stay on for more than a day or two). I'll try and go get some flock blocks. The problem is the nearest feed shop to me is pretty far...there used to be one LITERALLY next door to my apartment but it shut down a few weeks ago, d'oh!!

 

[KaseySnow]

Sounds as though you were put in bad situation. How long are you chicken sitting?

They get back on the 16th of June. D: So a while.

Not on topic but I bet the BYC peeps would love to see some chicken art!

I would love to oblige! No idea where to post the sketches I've done though, haha. Maybe in Pictures & Stories of My Chickens? Or maybe Hobbies? I suppose I can just pick a category and the mods can rehome the thread if it's in the wrong place. XD

Obviously the owner had something they were doing like supervised free ranging that was keeping this problem at bay.

Yeah, they're a pretty active outdoor family so they are always letting the chickens out whenever they are outside gardening, grilling, or playing with their kids. They've never had a pecking issue before, but they've been gone so much this year and having people looking after the chickens off and on since April. It's a problem that I don't think they anticipated since they'd never had an issue with this flock and they have never left home for so long with past flocks.

What are the dimensions, roughly? Is there a folding chair or something you can put in there to add some entertainment? I have had great success entertaining my flock by putting a few shovels full of fresh earth into the run or a bunch of rice hulls to dig through. Anythingvthey can scratch through will help. Can you also provide a protein treat like tuna fish or sardines from a can?

I don't know the measurements, but I can get them to you next time I go over there. Thanks for the entertainment ideas! That's a good idea about tuna fish too, I have loads of canned tuna that I'd love to get rid of before it gets old. I've also thought about buying some crickets from the local pet store up the street for them to chase.