Coop gone crazy!

[KyCoop]

Guys my coop as gone crazy. 1 lady as taken to sleeping in a bare floor nesting box. 1 lady is in a hard, HARD molt. She is practically nekid. This morning I go out to the run and one of my leghorns head is covered in blood. We caught her up, cleaned her up and patched her up. I didnt want to get her too wet trying to clean her (it was cool this morning) but from what I can tell her ear flap and comb were torn. I dont know who did what but the lady thats sleeping in the nesting box went after the molting lady and the molting lady went after the bleeding lady! Have mercy what in the heck is going on? This is their first molt and the weather has been aweful. Could it just be a perfect storm of stress?

 

[sybonbon]

One day I came home from work and my small flock of 3 were all injured. One broken beak tip, bleeding combs and blood splatters everywhere. In the coop next to theirs my single old lady had similar damage She lives alone so I can't say another chicken picked on her.My guess is a predator must have visited but did not enter either of the coops. We have alot of hawks so I'm guessing it scared the crap out of them and they caused the damage to themselves by flying around in a tizzy. After that episode it took awhile to come out to eat and forage. Could this have happened to yours?

 

[Tonyroo]

Chickens feel very vulnerable and stressed during a molt. Odd your chickens are molting now.

It helps to feed them a higher protein feed for as long there in molt.

 

[KyCoop]

One day I came home from work and my small flock of 3 were all injured. One broken beak tip, bleeding combs and blood splatters everywhere. In the coop next to theirs my single old lady had similar damage She lives alone so I can't say another chicken picked on her.My guess is a predator must have visited but did not enter either of the coops. We have alot of hawks so I'm guessing it scared the crap out of them and they caused the damage to themselves by flying around in a tizzy. After that episode it took awhile to come out to eat and forage. Could this have happened to yours?

They were still locked in their run so no predator could have gotten at them. I looked around but could not find anything she could have hurt herself on. When they all started fighting, I knew one of her flock mates had gotten her. She was not in the least bit afraid and was acting just fine.

 

[WoDia]

Your little lady in hard molt is likely needing extra TLC for sure. I had a hen this winter go into hard molt. She was so bare, she couldn’t stay warm. I had to set her up in her own warmer enclosure (with a companion) until the feathers grew out. Keep an eye on your injured one to make sure none of the others are picking at her injuries. Your lady sleeping by herself on the floor may be due to trying to find herself a quiet place to rest away from the others. I have a few old hens that will sleep in the nesting boxes just to have some peace and quiet.

 

[KyCoop]

Chickens feel very vulnerable and stressed during a molt. Odd your chickens are molting now.

It helps to feed them a higher protein feed for as long there in molt.

They were fall chicks so their molting time is a little off. She just turned 1 yr in October. I gave her a sardine. She liked that a lot.

 

[AntiqueB]

You can use BluKote on the cuts so others won't peck at it.

How big is your run and coop? Crowded conditions can lead to fights.

 

[KyCoop]

Your little lady in hard molt is likely needing extra TLC for sure. I had a hen this winter go into hard molt. She was so bare, she couldn’t stay warm. I had to set her up in her own warmer enclosure (with a companion) until the feathers grew out. Keep an eye on your injured one to make sure none of the others are picking at her injuries. Your lady sleeping by herself on the floor may be due to trying to find herself a quiet place to rest away from the others. I have a few old hens that will sleep in the nesting boxes just to have some peace and quiet.

Thankfully the hard molting lady is 2nd in command and has the best roosting spot so I know she is warm at night at least. I put hen healer blue stuff on my injured lady. I will keep a close eye and ear on her. Im 100% sure it was not a hawk as I had not let them out for the day yet.

 

[WoDia]

Coops sure DO get crazy sometimes! You’ve had so much happen all at once. It sounds like everything’s under control now, thank goodness Good Wishes for a quick recovery of your injured girl.

 

[KyCoop]

My coop is 6 x 6 with 11 feet of roost. My run is 8 x16 plus the area under the 6x6 coop. Lots and lots of roost areas. They have a 50 x100 chicken yard they get to free range 3-4 hrs a day.