HELP! My hens are murders!!!

[The Moonshiner]

From your post I get the impression that you are feeding a diet high in vegetable matter. Chickens dearly hate a vegetarian diet, hens for the lack of a better description are Steak & Steak feeders, regardless of what groups like PETA may say.

What? Chickens are carnivores? They don't like vegetables or vegetable matter?
That's ridiculous. Sure they'll eat meat but I don't see chicken feed listing chicken or beef as main ingredients.
My chicken feed is mostly corn and I don't feed them meat except when I score a nest of baby mice or what they find on their own and they don't run around attacking and killing each other for their blood lust to get some meat in their guts.
Guess I can quit worrying about predators I didn't know my chickens were the real predators. Beware coyotes I've got enough birds to take you down.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Well they say that Missouri is the "Show Me State" So in the spirit of your home state I suggest that you buy a dozen or two small minnows at the bait shop then toss these little fishes into your chicken coop.

I will bet that your hens have never seen a minnow but I will also bet you that your hens will quickly pick up ever minnow, turn that sucker around in their beak and swallow it head first. Back in the day this must have been where 1920s or 30s frat boys got the idea of scarfing down live goldfish.

 

[LRH97]

This is a fully enclosed coop/run situation. I did consider a predator, but that would be limited to cats or raccoons and both of those could easily take on or at least injure the big girls and they haven't been touched at all. All the bodies were found in the coop, I found no holes or break in points that leads me to believe anything got in. A predator also tends to try and take their meal with them, these bodies were just left there...

I find this situation rather random, especially if the younger birds were older "babies". At 5 months, they're not particularly small and fragile and should be able to stand up to some considerable pecking and harassment from the older birds. This leads me to agree with a predator of some sort. Really the only way I see another hen being responsible for this is if space is really tight and they all managed to get cornered somehow and got pecked to death, or you have some very overly-aggressive older hens that like to gang up on newbies (which I'm sure you would've noticed).

You'd be surprised the lengths of what a predator would go to get after some free KFC. Is your run covered? I've had hawks fly IN to the coop before. Are you positive that there are no spaces or gaps anywhere in your run or coop? You'd be equally surprised at what some of these predators can fit through. Bear in mind that different predators also have different characteristics about how they hunt. Yes, some do take their kill with them, some do not. Look around for tracks etc.

Well they say that Missouri is the "Show Me State" So in the spirit of your home state I suggest that you buy a dozen or two small minnows at the bait shop then toss these little fishes into your chicken coop.

I will bet that your hens have never seen a minnow but I will also bet you that your hens will quickly pick up ever minnow, turn that sucker around in their beak and swallow it head first. Back in the day this must have been where 1920s or 30s frat boys got the idea of scarfing down live goldfish.

Chickens are omnivores. Of course they'll go after minnows and anything that moves that catches their eye, but I've never heard of birds killing and eating each other if they don't get fed animal products. A well balanced commercial diet with the occasional treats, scraps, and whatever they find on range will keep them quite happy.

 

[TeenageRooster's Dad]

From your post I get the impression that you are feeding a diet high in vegetable matter. Chickens dearly hate a vegetarian diet, hens for the lack of a better description are Steak & Steak feeders, regardless of what groups like PETA may say.

Just an observation here but since I introduced lean meat every other day 2 months ago, my hens are way calmer. Maybe low animal protein diet triggers anxiety' too much starches and fibers raises cortisol... not a vet here nor a poultry certified dietician but observation.

 

[LRH97]

Just an observation here but since I introduced lean meat every other day 2 months ago, my hens are way calmer. Maybe low animal protein diet triggers anxiety' too much starches and fibers raises cortisol... not a vet here nor a poultry certified dietician but observation.

Interesting!

 

[The Moonshiner]

Well they say that Missouri is the "Show Me State" So in the spirit of your home state I suggest that you buy a dozen or two small minnows at the bait shop then toss these little fishes into your chicken coop.

I will bet that your hens have never seen a minnow but I will also bet you that your hens will quickly pick up ever minnow, turn that sucker around in their beak and swallow it head first. Back in the day this must have been where 1920s or 30s frat boys got the idea of scarfing down live goldfish.

I do a lot of free range so I know exactly what that outcome would be. Same as if I threw a 12 pack in the middle of that group of frat boys.
But its also the same reaction as if I bust a good ol watermelon on the ground or a handful of tomatoes.
Chickens aren't going to turn on each other and eat each other because they're forced to eat a vegetable based diet. And they don't dislike a vegetable based diet.
Also PETA has had no effect on what I feed my birds. Did enjoy their idea of getting woman out of their clothes for their campaign but to this day I remember the ads but never paid attention to what the message was. Was it drink more milk?

 

[Ridgerunner]

To me it sounds like something, probably some type of weasel, got in and killed the chicks and the hens were taking advantage of the free protein. Weasels will kill for the sake of killing and the smaller ones (which might target smaller chickens) can get through holes the size of a quarter. At that age those chicks were probably sleeping on a group on the floor while the hens were roosting. That's probably why the hens were mot targeted.

I have a lot of trouble believing the hens would kill all the chicks that size just out of the blue. A weasel would.

 

[Chickassan]

If you've still got the ladies in a run with this big of wire spacing it would be no problem for a weasel to get inside and cause chaos. It takes fort knox to keep those out and even then it is iffy.

 

[aart]

If you've still got the ladies in a run with this big of wire spacing it would be no problem for a weasel to get inside and cause chaos. It takes fort knox to keep those out and even then it is iffy.View attachment 1526499

Link to where this pic came from?

 

[Chickassan]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/first-egg-finally.1228339/

Link to where this pic came from?