Fighting Hens

[Donna Ranson]

I have six hens. Two each ISSA Browns, Rhode Island Reds, Americana's. All raised together from days old. They are now one year old. ISSA Brown started pecking feathers off the other hens. One Rhode Island was losing weight, and couldn't stay warm; therefore house ICU for 3 weeks. I was able to reintroduce her to the flock. The ISSA Brown started pecking feathers again; I removed her from the flock; now the two ISSA Browns fight aggressively; drawing blood on the cones, neck feathers all fluffed up when fighting. Should I let them figure it out on their own? The smaller ISSA starts the aggression; but the larger is more powerful.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Welcome to byc.

What are the dimensions(feetxfeet) of both the coop and the run in which the birds are kept.....or do they free range?
How long ago did the issues first start? What was the weather like at that time? Would you be able to section off part of the existing area or use a cage within it to isolate the aggressor for several days?

 

[ChickenGirl555]

My personal opinion would be remove the bully. It makes more room for the other chickens, and the victim(s) is safe and happy.

 

[Donna Ranson]

Welcome to byc.

What are the dimensions(feetxfeet) of both the coop and the run in which the birds are kept.....or do they free range?
How long ago did the issues first start? What was the weather like at that time? Would you be able to section off part of the existing area or use a cage within it to isolate the aggressor for several days?

The coop and run can house approx. 20 chickens. We added an addition run 8x5. I free range them daily, approx. 30-60 minutes . Depends on the weather. The feather pecking started about 6 weeks ago. We had artic cold, the one hen couldn't keep warm, we housed her. About 5 days ago the ISSA Red started pecking feathers again, two days ago I isolated this hen in a large dog crate at night. During the day slowly began to re-introduce her during the day at free range; hen fight started right off the bat. Weather is great. For Michigan. As long as I am with them they are okay. If they get to close together, the smaller hen starts the fight.

 

[Donna Ranson]

My personal opinion would be remove the bully. It makes more room for the other chickens, and the victim(s) is safe and happy.

I did remove the bully, feather plucker, lol Then the other ISSA Brown started fighting with the hen I isolated. Also a ISSA Brown.

 

[bobbi-j]

It really is important to know how big in feet by feet the run and coop are. Coops that are advertised to hold x number of chickens are generally falsely advertised. That's why we ask. We don't know if you bought a prefab coop, or built one using the "4 square feet per bird in the coop" guidelines that many people follow. This, of course, is not a "RULE" so much as a general guideline that has been found to be helpful. (In my opinion, there are no RULES to chicken keeping. There are too many variables to make that work.)

That ONE chicken was having problems keeping warm tells me that there is probably more likely something going on with that chicken, and the ISA brown sensed weakness and that's why she was bullying the other.

Since the feather picking started during the middle of winter, it could be that they were crowded or bored with being kept in during the coldest days. Even when given more space, sometimes it becomes a nasty habit that is hard to break. You may want to consider removing that one bully hen from the flock, if she is the only instigator to the bullying. You may also want to keep an eye on the bullied one. She could have lice, mites or something else going on that was keeping her from being able to regulate her temperature during the winter.

 

[azygous]

You may have several issues going on. Boredom, individual temperament, run configuration, even diet. All can contribute to conflict.

Be aware that any time you temporarily remove one chicken from the flock and then return her, you have altered the social order. Each time that occurs, the chickens will need to adjust their relationships. Sometimes it results in very short-lived conflict, violent at times. This is to be expected. To avoid it, avoid removing chickens from the flock except for extremely serious reasons.

I have an isolation pen in the run where a special case can be kept separate yet still in full view of the flock. This minimizes pecking order issues.

An increase in protein may help with the picking. An all flock feed instead of layer will sometimes solve this dietary issue. Providing oyster shell will satisfy calcium needs.

A flock block can alleviate boredom. These are extremely popular with chickens. Reconfiguring your run to make it more interesting with space broken up and added perches and places to hide behind can also help.

When all else fails, I've used pinless peepers on feather pickers with great success.

 

[Hensndoes]

Like the above replies- how much space do you have both in coop and run? How many birds? And what are you feeding them? As in what % protein. Are you keeping the snacks to a minimum? Chickens live scratch but too much throws their protein intake way low.

I had feather pickers last winter. I switched to a food that upped their protein and treat them with tuna maybe once a week. No issues this year. They can have scratch when the snow melts and I know they are eating bugs. And snakes. And toads. I hate that they eat toads.