Help... chickens poking others

[evaraye]

Help. Yesterday, we found one of our chickens dead in the cage. They are about 5 weeks old and we noticed that some of the chickens were pecking at the chicken that didn't have long tail feathers like the rest. We are now noticing that some of the chickens have some bald spots around their necks. Is there anyone who may know what is going on? I sure don't want to lose any more chickens because of my lack of knowledge.

 

[thunderkitty]

As far as bald spots I think some of that might be the feather change and some may be related to the pecking order they go through around three weeks and beyond. If they have any blood on them or they are unable to access water/food because of being picked on, take them out and isolate them , nearby if possible so they don't get too lonely. I know about this because I just had one of my almost 4 week old chicks have a bloody bottom yesterday and she had to be isolated but, sadly I can't have her near the others because of space issues but, I'm giving her lots of love. I'm not sure if a difference in breed makes a difference in their "order" but, some birds, from what I've read seem more aggressive, while some are docile and passive, best of luck, I hope this helps! I would make sure also that they have enough feed water and space for each bird 2 inches I believe otherwise this can also contribute to the aggession.

 

[DuckLady]

It sounds like they might be overcrowded. What kind of light do you have on them? Do they have enough food and water?

 

[evaraye]

After doing a little research I found out that the problem is probably overcrowded space. Our coop has been ready and the fenced in area is almost completed. I read the Production reds are proned to be canabalistic if they are too crowded and are walking on fenced cages. We will be moving them to their free range caged area tomorrow. We've been working all night building the door for the cage and adding fencing under the coop area. It's ready for them to be moved tomorrow morning. Thanks for replying to my urgent question. I was afraid we'd have a few more dead chickens. We turned the light out tonight and they seem to be much calmer now.
BLESSINGS!

 

[Queen of the Lilliputians]

I'm glad everything worked out for you! Great job finding the solution!

And I have a feeling that's going to be us in a few weeks.. coop is 95% done, but we haven't worked on it for the last 3 weeks. I can see us rushing at the very end to finish up the rest of it!

Meghan

 

[kstaven]

Having a bright white or standard light on 24/7 can bring out agression also. If you want to use a night light for them make sure it is a red bulb.