Hen Pecked

[cluckcluckgirl]

Our chickens are right around 4 1/2- 5 months old, and I'm pretty sure we have two roosters. However, my barred Plymouth Rock rooster has been pecking at hens' tails and hurting them. He's not mean towards me or my family. I have to spray the hens almost every day with a healing spray, but he still pecks at their tails and makes them bleed. I want my hens happy. Is there anything I can do to try to get him to break the habit?

 

[TwoCrows]

Make sure they have plenty of room to move about. Chickens turn cannibalistic when confined in close quarters. Make sure they are getting enough protein in their diet as well. You can also do things to keep them entertained like hang a cabbage head at their height, or some sort of treat ball, so that they have other things to do besides pick at each other. I have heard that pine tar applied to open wounds not only aids in healing, but tastes really bad and the chickens won't bother wounds. Glob it on thick. You can get that at most feed stores in the horse section.

 

[cluckcluckgirl]

I have read that chickens need at least 4 sq feet per bird, did the calculation, and it turned out ours had about 14 sq feet per bird. Their house has plenty of room too. Their food I feed them has about 16% protein. Is that enough?

 

[RaeRae2]

In my personal experience, I have never owned a rooster that didn't damage and harass hens and eventually have to go to a new home. I've had many of them of different breeds and it is ALWAYS the same story. They chase, peck, rip out feathers, breed them continually, and the hens end up terrified of the rooster. If it were me, the roosters would be gone. But, if you're determined to keep them, others can probably help you with some ideas. I can't because I've never been successful keeping a rooster around.

 

[boulderacres]

we have the same problem, to my knowledge we don't have a rooster, but there are a few- the barred rock's that are attacking all the other ones, some so badly that we've had to separate them out & try to nurse them back to health. They have plenty of room, but we just finished the nesting boxes & heard not having them could have been a reason behind it. It really stinks!

 

[BackyardFarmMom]

I have 3 barreds that are big bullies. They recently hurt one of my EEs. They had 2 EEs pinned in the corner.

My EE is now wobbly and has a hard time balancing.
As soon as I heard them being picked on, I moved the EEs to a new spot.
I will wait to integrate them again until the Barred roo goes to freezer camp. I think he will taste wonderful.
Barreds are not on my favorites list. All 3 are too aggressive.

My suggestion is to separate the plucker and see if the flock calms down a little. If it does, maybe it would be a happier flock without him altogether.

Good luck.

 

[terryg]

There are differences between breeds, and as you've seen the Barred Rocks can be aggressive. Barred Rocks and Rhode Island Reds are among two breeds that are vigorous and active foragers. They're very nice hens when they have space and plenty to do, but if confined they will become aggressive. The roosters will be even worse. Two roosters in a small space is two too many.
Even a flock of just hens need to stay busy. For those with limited space, I suggest putting a compost pile in the chicken run. I have instructions here:
http://hencam.com/faq/compost-in-the-chicken-run/

 

[speckledhen]

Barred Rocks are not what I'd call "aggressive". They are active, intelligent birds and need enough room. If you don't give them enough room or good conditions, same with Delawares, you will have trouble, maybe more than with a docile dustmop chicken like a Silkie. They hold their own in any flock situation, are rarely at the bottom of the pecking order, but I would never classify that as aggressive.

That said, some birds can cause issues and it's just an individual thing, not a breed thing. If Barred Plymouth Rocks were troublesome, they would not be my favorite breed--I'm a "work smart, not hard" kind of gal. Never had any BR cause any issues like you're describing and I've had them for almost 7 years.

I agree with terryg on the "give them something to do" part for sure, if someone is causing issues. I had one crossbreed hen who always, ALWAYS plucked her rooster's saddle feathers. Didn't matter how much protein she got or what rooster she was with. She just had that habit. Nitpicky woman, LOL.

 

[Kacey's Krazee's]

I had, still have , feather picking going on in my flock. I find that most of the feather picking started with feeding the girls the 16% protein feed that is found in most commercial feeds. That number is an average for large commercial chicken and egg farms. They only worry about growth and egg count, not feather growth. The 16% drops down even further when you set out treats for your girls. I looked around in my area, and found at least 1 feed that has 20% layer feed at the same cost as the Purina feed I was using. I cut back on the treats, or choose protein treats, and their feathers started growing in. I do have one girl that is a Buff Orpington who is always pecking at the others at the base of their tails, so that is still a reason for the ongoing feather picking. We also recently had to cut back on the size of the area they roamed in. It was behind a fence, but wasn't topped with netting. We have a Bobcat that has been visiting repeatedly, and was reducing the flock. We had to put them in chicken prison to keep them safe. They didn't like the change at all, and they showed their stress by resuming feather picking. They have settled down, and the feather growth is restarting.