frustrated new chicken owner!

[saserbicki]

I am a new chicken owner with multiple problems...maybe they are related? I have three chickens-raised together from chicks: Rhode Island Red, an Easter Egger and a Wyandotte. The RIR and Wyndotte have been laying for about 1 month and the EE'er about two weeks. The egg laying has been a bit sporatic. Okay at first, but now I'm getting alot of shell-less eggs laid off the perch. The RIR was laying an egg a day for a few weeks, but then all of sudden laid a huge egg with a double yolk. The next few days she laid a shell-less egg or no egg and finally laid another huge egg 3-4 days later and the pattern has been repeating! The other two seem to have shell-less eggs sometimes too, and when they do lay, their eggs are still pretty small. Yesterday I did not have any dropped membrane-only eggs, so I figured I would get 3 good ones today - well, I got 2 and the RIR laid one outside the nesting box that was cracked and eaten.

Also, my poor Easter Egger is getting bullied: pushed away from food even when there is a huge full dish, and also pecked by the RIR. The EE does not really even seem to defend herself as the Red plucks a neck feather and eats it! Her neck is bare in front and I am feeling very sorry for her! I now put out multiple dishes of food so the EE has somewhere else to go when she is pushed away... I have also put out cabbage for them to peck on and got a different feed that has extra oyster shell. I have tried also making sure they are getting some animal protien scraps every day in case the Red is feather-picking for protein. A few people have suggested that I need another chicken for balance, but I'm thinking with all the problems I already have bringing in a new chicken would make things worse!

Maybe not enough feed? Or too much? The guy who sold me the chicks said they should really only need about 1 cup or so of feed each per day - and the more I put out they will just eat it even if they do not need it. I put double that amount, plus they get scraps and range in an area of 250 sq ft (500 sq ft on some days). They eat most of the feed I put out, although some turns to dust in the feeders and is wasted...

Any thoughts would be much appreciated!

 

[RachelFromTheBlackLagoon]

They should have constant access to layer pellets and oyster shell (and grit and fresh water) while they're awake. I'd start with that.

 

[silkiechicken]

Behavior sounds pretty normal to me. They will dole out the pecking order till someone is a solid top and someone is a solid bottom. Egg laying can be a bit off for the first few months as their bodies figure out what to do, but if you give oyster shell on the side they should get plenty of calcium from that so you don't have to worry. Sometimes if you drop a fake egg in the nest, they will be more regular in laying in there, but since they are young, they can have accidents.

One thing though, is to make sure they have enough room, reccomendations say 4 sq each inside, 10 sq feet outside in a run, some do smaller, some do bigger, some say you need at least twice that to avoid problems. Other than that, they should be able to eat what they need and call it good.

 

[peachlover]

ditto to what Rachel said

 

[crazyhen]

Always have food ,water and oystershell available. If they do not have an outside run give them granite grit as well. I never let the laying mash run out. They will regulate their own food intake. You might also try a vitamin water for a week . Thats just in case they have not been getting the nec. amts of food. Young layers can be a bit eratic but this sounds more of a problem since all the hens are having some problem. I hope this helps. I also spoil mine with some spinach that I buy for them. They love all the greens. Gloria Jean

 

[rachelbinnc]

I agree about never limiting their food. They should be allowed to free-feed, absolutely. If they have plenty to eat, things will most likely be more peaceful in the group. I'm not sure if others would agree, but if they were raised together I'm not sure there will be a reason for them to pick at each other so much to reinforce the pecking order. I have nine who were raised together and they will give each other a poke every now and then but there isn't a constant picking. They all pretty much know their place in the group. I would say there is something else stressing them to make them do that, most likely that they are competing for the food. I bet if you get the feed straightened out, the pecking will be less and I bet you'll get better eggs too. Good luck and don't give up! Keep experimenting and things will get better. It's all part of the learning process.

 

[luvzmychickens]

The shelless egg is probably from not enuff calcium, or stress from layin' huge eggs, as for the pecking order, i felt bad when this happened with my EE and Australorps, whenever you see them pecking eachother peck the bully and frimly say no!!! This shows them that your the leader and theres no pecking exept if you do it. it took my chickens a week or so to figure this out, then it finaly stopped and now they dont have bloody and scabbed over cones.

 

[mboreham1]

classic lack of calcium, get oyster shells and maybe some kind of calcium suppliment!

 

[fancbrd4me02]

If the one being picked on has a sore, they will keep pecking it. Seperate her and treat the wound. Return her to the flock only when the wound is healed, or the others will just keep picking it. Your description of the chickens sounds like they have a nutritional deficiency. Have they been on a layer ration with oyster shell? Did you use a quality chick starter/grower until they reached laying age? Do they eat the food you are giving them now as thier primary food source, free fed? I would provide a good layer feed, free access, and seperate the picked on one with the wound. It is normal for chickens to establish a pecking order, but if the pecking begins to cause bleeding, you must intervene. Your chickens should already have a pecking order established. I suspect the picking is related to nutrition or competition for food source. You can try using multiple feeders to reduce squabbles.

 

[newchicksnducks]

First, deep breath...ahhh...ok. Shelless eggs, double yolks, etc are very common for new layers. Mine often layed the shelless eggs while on the roosts at night. I don't think they quite knew what happened, because they always layed the regular eggs in their boxes. I think these were just thought of as big chicken poops!

There is often a "bully" in the bunch. I've had 2 feeders from the beginning. This will allow the bully to be at one and the one at the bottom of the pecking order at the other feeder. I use 24/7 access to feed and water. I also have small wood boxes that I (or DH!) screwed onto the coop walls for me. One is filled with grit, one is filled with calcium. These are always kept filled too.

If possible, allow outside time in a secure run. I'll often let mine range free, but if your not comfortable with this, a secure run is great. This helps relieve boredom and allows access to lovely bugs, grass, etc for the girls. When they were on lockdown in the winter, I would scatter scratch on the floor of the coop, allowing them to scratch through the shavings for the seeds. Same with lettuce, cabbage, etc.

Good luck!