Help!!

[Elyrian1]

As I was scrolling, I was thinking what Chickassan just said. Mostly wondering how big the coop is though. If space is at a premium, well... would you wanna be cooped up with three other ladies in a tight space? Like college all over again, fighting over the darn bathroom sink before class.

Missing feathers on the head is a little curious though. I'm used to seeing side of the neck and back feathers missing in pecking order spats. Hmm.

Sounds like Shelly is top bird in your coop.

ETA: Getting rid of Shelly most likely would merely transfer the undesirable behavior to whomever replaced her in the top spot. So not a necessary move unless aggressions spiral out of control.

 

[Allisonlovesnancy]

You've got two layers and two non layers, the layers almost always treat non layers badly "think high school bullying". Also how big is your run? It looks a little small from what i can tell and the wire bottom impedes scratching and foraging which leads to boredom which leads to hen fights.

a friend suggested covering the bottom to prevent predators digging in

 

[Allisonlovesnancy]

As I was scrolling, I was thinking what Chickassan just said. Mostly wondering how big the coop is though. If space is at a premium, well... would you wanna be cooped up with three other ladies in a tight space? Like college all over again, fighting over the darn bathroom sink before class.

Missing feathers on the head is a little curious though. I'm used to seeing side of the neck and back feathers missing in pecking order spats. Hmm.

Sounds like Shelly is top bird in your coop.

ETA: Getting rid of Shelly most likely would merely transfer the undesirable behavior to whomever replaced her in the top spot. So not a necessary move unless aggressions spiral out of control.

I will post a picture tonight of her missing feathers, how should fix the coop issue? add to the run? take the wire off the bottom?

 

[Allisonlovesnancy]

As I was scrolling, I was thinking what Chickassan just said. Mostly wondering how big the coop is though. If space is at a premium, well... would you wanna be cooped up with three other ladies in a tight space? Like college all over again, fighting over the darn bathroom sink before class.

Missing feathers on the head is a little curious though. I'm used to seeing side of the neck and back feathers missing in pecking order spats. Hmm.

Sounds like Shelly is top bird in your coop.

ETA: Getting rid of Shelly most likely would merely transfer the undesirable behavior to whomever replaced her in the top spot. So not a necessary move unless aggressions spiral out of control.

I forgot to mention that we plan on making the girls free range in the spring, we got the coop and the run without knowing that the girls came with it, kinda bad timing because winter is coming but we still got them because all together it was $50, a steal!

 

[Elyrian1]

Far as the wire on the bottom, you can add a skirt to the outside edge, preferably two feet out. I've got my skirt buried with rocks in addition just to really annoy the fox that lives in the neighborhood. Think of it like an L shape. Where the vertical is the wall of the run, and the horizontal is the skirt of wire on the outside on the ground.

Before we worry about additions, what are the dimensions? Generally speaking, 4sq ft per bird is recommended in the coop, and 10 sq ft per bird in the attached run.

 

[Chickassan]

Just remove the wire, you'll be suprised at how happy that will make them. And as has been said just put a little skirt of wire at the bottom and cover it with rocks or something. That's a huuuge start. When we get pictures and rough dimensions of your setup we'll see what else can be done to make your girls happier.

I will post a picture tonight of her missing feathers, how should fix the coop issue? add to the run? take the wire off the bottom?

 

[rosemarythyme]

I agree with the comments about run space, you could use room in there from the looks of it, not just to give them room to stretch out their legs a little, but also because that will allow you to put in multiple feed stations as well as hiding spots for lower ranked birds to get away from the bullies.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I will check on the protein, thank you very much! Shelly is a golden laced though.

Right... Golden Laced is her variety. Wyandotte is her breed. She is a Golden Laced Wyandotte also known as GLW here on BYC.

They are a good dual purpose breed. And pretty too.