found a hen dead in coop,

[muenkel]

we use poulin grain layer pellets, crude protein 15 .00 pct, we were giving them left overs (table scraps,a bones)
in the fall, but stopped, someone said too much protein could cause egg binding, i do give them crushed egg shells occasionally and about a 1/4 cup of the dried mealy worms maybe 3x week with the cracked corn, about a 1/3 cup, i just sprinkle them in the out side pen or if its real cold, inside the coop


we have had eggs with no shell, soft shell eggs, pale eggs very dark brown ones, the hens are all molting too, have been for a month at least, and lots of the eggs were freezing too when it was below 0 degrees, though i do save those for scrambled eggs, have to be thrifty,

i think your right about the roost being to low, i have noticed the hens pecking at the ones on the roost, will raise those, any advise is very much appreciated

 

[muenkel]

so the hen that was attacked, i happy to say she is all healed up and i put her out in the coop today, unfortunately i found another hen out side in the snow who was attacked by another hen, she is not going to make it. though while cleaning out the coop i did notice one hen trying to mount another hen and then again out side chest butting a hen, i grabbed her and put her in a cat carrier for now, I'm thinking she might be the ring leader.. any thought s about alfa hen behaviors?, well i saw a post that said you could keep her separate from the others for a while and it might make her go to the bottom of the pecking order?! well see

 

[Mtn Laurel]

Reading through this thread and you've been having a real tough time with these gals. Sorry you've had to go through all this.

Making sure I've got this right, you started with 18 girls and are now down to 11 and they're 7 months old. Of these 4 died due to egg binding. The rest seem to be attacking and cannibalizing each other. Your coop is 5 x 6 = 30 square feet. Feed is available to them 24/7 in a feeder and you give them meal worms and corn occasionally. They're also getting oyster shell.

I'm fairly new at chickens and hope that our more experienced member will weigh in on this but -

#1: 4 dying of egg binding so close together and at this early age seems like a lot. I have to wonder if something else contributed to their deaths.
#2: Your problems could be compounded by the number of birds in the size coop you have. If you use the "rule of thumb" of 4 sq. ft. per bird, then your coop should house a max of 8 birds. The rule of thumb is only an estimate as everyone's situation is different but - as you're having issues with the birds attacking each other - it could certainly be a contributing factor.

You didn't mention your run. How much space do they have outside of the coop during the day?

I sure hope you're able to figure out what's going on as this must be very disheartening. Best of luck to you and your gals!