Hen pecking at other hen when treats are given

[pdirt]

Thanks WNCcluck,

I am not going to give any treats this week (other than their daily suet cage of veggies) and see how it goes.  I hung a half a head of cabbage in the run today on a bungee cord and everyone is happy.  That is a good idea about putting the other seed type treats in a bag so they all have equal access.  It just breaks my heart to see the little one (EE) drawing blood on the big one (BR)- I also got some rooster peck no more so my BR can heal in peace.  I hope my not introducing treats and only hanging their veggies that things will get better.  I am also going to make sure there is ample food available at all times since I wonder if only giving them a days worth was not sufficient enough for them.  I also had read about hens that peck being deficient in protein.  I may see if I can feed my EE separately some protein and see if things improve.

If you've only been putting out enough feed for a day, have you noticed if your EE gets less to eat than your BR? It could be the BR is hogging more food than you realize. And since your EE is smaller than your BR...

I know that EE are a mixed breed, so weights probably vary, but all the EE/Ameracaunas we've had have been equal in size to our Barred Rocks.

 

[growsaposy]

I seem to be plagued with the same problem. I have 6 girls, and one, (the smallest) spends almost all her time running from the one or two of her flock-mates. Doesn't matter if they all out running around, or in the yard. The oldest hen chased the younger, and now I have had her in 'a hospital' cage, healing for 3 weeks. She healed fine and has both "Peck no More" on her and BluKote as well. It's been 3 weeks, so I let her out to run free with her sisters, and they're off again, pecking at her if she gets close. so she's back in the 'hospital' cage. They are not hungry, just mean to "Sunny."
I'm thinking of switching places. Putting the main attacker in isolation and seeing if the others will allow her to mix with them. Can anyone think of anything else to do? They are all laying, eating fine, they are from 7 to 8 months old. they have regular layer food all the time and treats often. I am at my wits end!
Thanks,
Barbara

 

[pdirt]

I seem to be plagued with the same problem. I have 6 girls, and one, (the smallest) spends almost all her time running from the one or two of her  flock-mates. Doesn't matter if they all out running around, or in the yard.  The oldest hen chased the younger, and now I have had her in 'a hospital' cage, healing for 3 weeks.  She  healed fine and has both "Peck no More" on her and BluKote as well.  It's been 3 weeks, so I let her out to run free with her sisters, and they're off again, pecking at her if she gets close. so she's back in the 'hospital' cage. They are not hungry, just mean to "Sunny."
I'm thinking of switching places. Putting the  main attacker in isolation and  seeing if the others will allow her to mix with them.  Can anyone think of anything else to do? They are all laying, eating fine, they are from 7 to 8 months old. they have regular layer food all the time and treats often.  I am at my wits end!
Thanks, 
Barbara

Sometimes putting the bully in isolation for a week or two can essentially "remove" them from the flock, so that when they return to the flock, they are low or at the bottom of the pecking order. Worth a try...let us know how it turns out if you try this.

How big is your coop for these 6 birds? Sometimes too small of a coop can cause behavioral issues like this.

 

[mrskenmore]

hi pdirt,

my EE is half the size of my BR- so I know that the BR is the one that gets to the food first and is a better forager. There is plenty of food now and all seems to be well. They won't be getting treats until my BR heals. Will her comb go back to normal? Also they seem to tilt their water recently emptying it (I have it sitting on a heated flower pot and hanging from above, but yesterday it had been drained. Wonder if she is hungry and thirsty? I would be aggressive at treat time if I were hungry and thirsty!

 

[aart]

I thought I had enough space- 36 sq ft for the run and 12 sq ft for the coop? for three hens? we may build them a run extension of that helps.

12 sqft for coop is tight and 36 sqft for run is minimal.........


........especially if you have feeders/waterers and/or anything else taking up some of that coop space, might be why your waterer got knocked enough to make it spill.


The 4/10 coop/run rule of thumb for space is bare minimum IMO. It can work, depending on the flock dynamic, but more room is always better when there's pecking order battles.

 

[mrskenmore]

looks like we are gonna need a bigger boat!

 

[pdirt]

looks like we are gonna need a bigger boat! 

It's called "chicken math"...it's easy to start adding more chickens than you really have room for. We had this problem last summer and had to build a new coop!

 

[WNCcluck]

I love chicken math! We switched from a tractor coop we moved each day for 4 hens to a permanent coop and run for 8 girls. I'm already thinking about the next expansion! Our coop is 8x6; the run is 8x16. That seems to work well for ours ... for now.

 

[mrskenmore]

UPDATE:

We haven't given them treats (except for veggies in a suet cage) now for about 2 weeks and the pecking has completely stopped- my BR is all healed... looking to do an extension to the run in the spring. I increased their food in the dish and no longer give them anything else to eat... I am hoping to one day go back to treats every now and then... but for now I don't want to rock the boat!
Looks like our pecking order has finally been established!!

Thanks all!

 

[aart]

UPDATE:

We haven't given them treats (except for veggies in a suet cage) now for about 2 weeks and the pecking has completely stopped- my BR is all healed... looking to do an extension to the run in the spring. I increased their food in the dish and no longer give them anything else to eat... I am hoping to one day go back to treats every now and then... but for now I don't want to rock the boat!
Looks like our pecking order has finally been established!!

Thanks all!

Cool Beans!
When I give treats during 'cooped up time'.... like this morning with 18" of snow on the ground......I just spread them all over the coop floor.
Keeps them all busy looking for them.

That might work in your small coop with 3 hens...might be worth a try.