chickens picking on each other

[lisa kae]

Hi,

I have 13 chickens, 6 Delaware, 2 Black Sex Link, 2 Rhode Island Red, 2 White Plymouth Rock, 1 Ameracauna. They are 41 days old and all have lost their fluff and have their feathers now except the White Plymouth Rocks have all their feathers on the bottom but nothing on their backs, just bare skin and the other chickens are picking at them and making them bleed, what should i do?

Thanks,
Lisa Kae

 

[donrae]

I'm making some assumptions here cause there's not enough info, but here goes....

Your birds are too young to be in with the older hens. You need to pull them out until they're about the same size, around 4 months, then try putting them back in.

How much space do you have and how many birds total? Picking of often a sign of overcrowding.

 

[lisa kae]

donrae,
thanks for the reply. all my chickens are the same age, 41 days old. the white plymouth rock are slightly bigger in size than the rest of the birds. the chicken coop is 3 1/2' x 3 1/2' with the nesting boxes attached to each side and a run of 3' x 8' i knew they would out grow it, just thought i had a little more time

 

[donrae]

Yeah, they're telling you they're way overcrowded, especially sleeping in the coop. You have less than a square foot per bird inside. You need to either sell some birds or make new housing arrangements soonest.

 

[lisa kae]

That's what I was afraid of, thanks