HELP!!! They are picking on one of my girls......................

[snowwhitejen]

Hoping someone will read this and give me some advice. I have 5 hens that are about 6 months old. All was going well, but for some reason 4 of them are picking on my easter egger. She is eating, laying and healthy, I have no idea why they are doing this, she is definitely lowest in the pecking order and very nervous. Any advise would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

When hens start to lay they lose that chick sweetness and become a bit more moody. There's always gonna be a bottom bird, your job is to make sure there are places and ways for the bottom bird to escape any and all pecking. You didn't say the size of your set up, but crowding and small coops are the main cause of aggression, give them as much room as possible, and chickens need a lot more room than is recommended, provide extra roosts and things to get on or get under so the bottom hen can get away, mine spends her time either on a roost or in my donkeys hay trough, coming out when the more dominant hens leave.

 

[donrae]

How much space do your birds have?

 

[Mrs. K]

This is a common problem at this stage in the game. What was enough space when the birds were smaller, becomes not enough space when the birds become bigger.

Also as winter come on (I am assuming that you are in this hemisphere) the days become shorter, and the nights become longer. The birds are on the roost longer and longer. In late December, mine are roosting up around 5:00 pm and not getting down until 7:00 am. So even if you are free ranging, they are still spending 14 hours confined to the roost due to darkness.

I had a couple of broody hens hatch out chicks in July, by the end of August, I could feel the tension rising in the coop/run. When I moved them to a much bigger set up, pulled the rooster chicks and left them in the original set up, it was amazing how the tension went away.

There are two ways of managing space, either make the set up bigger, or reduce the number of birds. 5-6 month birds should be at the point of lay, and I am thinking you could get $15-20 per head. Even removing 1 or 2 will make quite a difference.

Mrs K

 

[snowwhitejen]

This is my coop. Should be plenty of room, and they also free range during the day.

 

[snowwhitejen]

thank you for your help!!!

 

[snowwhitejen]

Thank you for the advice. I do have a smaller coop that I could move a few to if I have to, but I am worried that if I do that they won't get along free ranging. I guess for now I will wait and see if they work things out.

 

[aart]

What an interesting set up...where do they all sleep?
They probably can't all fit in one coop.

That run is not really big enough for all of them all the time.....
.....free ranging should ease the crowding stress until the weather gets bad and they are trapped in the coops/run.

What is your climate?

 

[snowwhitejen]

They all sleep in the right side coop, it is larger than it looks in the picture. I live in Southern California, mild weather all year.

 

[aart]

They all sleep in the right side coop, it is larger than it looks in the picture. I live in Southern California, mild weather all year.

How big(feet by feet) is one of those coops?