Hen Problems

[ranger4327]

I had 8 Golden Comet (red sex link) hens for about a year now, never had a problem, great layers, great birds. Each of the last two days i found a dead hen face down outside, with a nasty bloodied looking vent hole. There were some blood covered eggs, but not sure if that was associated or not. Now today, there is another hen, with a bloody, tender vent hole, that at least one of the other hens keeps pecking at. I think she shares the same fate as the other two. I have no way of seperating them. What is happening ? Is it one hen or group attacking others? Or is it an egg laying "injury", if u will, of the vent coupled with agressive birds. I have had them since chics and never had problems till now. I can pick out the aggressor as she has the bloody beak. Thanks for you help !!!!

 

[tamelroy]

Each flock has a well-established pecking order; this is a natural part of poultry behaviour
Sometimes the lowest ranking bird can suffer unduly, because it is smaller or weaker
It should be removed from the flock
Sometimes one hen will develop the habit of pecking at lower ranking birds continually
This bird will teach the habit to the others
Stop it ASAP, cull it or clip its beak
Pecking is usually directed at the vent where flesh is visible, at the eye or at the comb
Once a hen starts to bleed, you must isolate it from the rest of the flock or they will all start to peck at it, hens are carnivorous

Causes that can result in cannibalism include:
High density of birds within a confined area,
Brooding chicks at temperatures that are too warm,
Small or weak chicks, especially those having oddly coloured down or feathers,
Exposing birds to light that is too intense or having a colour that induces aggression,
Restriction of feed or water intake,
Feeding a diet with a deficiency of salt or sulphur-containing amino acids (protein),
Allowing dead birds to remain exposed to the flock,
Lack of or absence of properly designed nest boxes.

With feather-pecking any subsequent injury with drawing of blood will attract further pecking leading to cannibalism. To prevent cannibalism it is best to isolate the sick or victim bird from the flock or cage. The injured bird should have cuts treated with antiseptic powder and the wound should be coloured with a dark food dye or Stockholm tar to reduce further pecking attacks by other birds. This will promote healing and mask the smell of the wound
Alternatively the victim birds can be dusted with a repellent.

You can wash off the blood and smear the wound with Vaseline
This process should also be followed if the bird is injured in any other way

Beak-trimming or purchase of beak-trimmed stock will reduce the likelihood of feather-pecking and cannibalism especially if problems associated with lighting, stocking density and nutrition have been corrected. In addition it has been observed that some breeds of birds are more likely to feather-peck than others.

A special method of hot debeaking has been developed for debeaking broiler chicks at one day of age. Rather than severing or cutting the beak, a hot blade is used to burn an area near the tip of the upper beak (egg tooth). The procedure is designed to leave a thin base to the tip of the upper beak. This makes it easier for the chick to eat without having a sensitive, raw beak. The tip of the upper beak gradually drops off without apparent injury to the chick, thus leaving a shortened upper beak and a normal lower mandible.

Reducing the mortality is a primary concern that responds well to adequate floor space. Birds should not be crowded but instead, provide sufficient room so that weaker birds can escape from those that are more aggressive. Reducing the amount of floor space usually results in increased mortality and reduced growth rate. Not only is there a monetary loss involving the cost of the chick, but the value of the feed, labor, and other items necessary to grow a chick until the time of death is a direct loss. There is also the lost profit that could have been earned if the dead birds had lived until market or egg production age.

Sometimes what you think is cannibalism, is not, some birds eat feathers from the rear of others birds this area seems to be their favourite, give them gelatine sprinkled over their mash or grated vegies or wheat, this usually restores the vitamin they are lacking, feathers are a source of protein.

Return the bird to the flock as quickly as possible
Hens have short memories and will attack a strange bird entering the flock

Overcrowded conditions will aggravate or even cause this problem
Provide your flock with adequate space. Nutritional deficiencies have also been implicated. Along with boredom or an irritation from external parasites
Lights that are too bright may make birds nervous or highlight a bleeding or red area, leading to more frequent pecking

Badly injured birds should be culled and so should bullies
Keep the birds busy
Free-range hens are unlikely to develop this habit
Otherwise scatter wheat so the hens have to scratch around for it
This gives them something to do
Hang some cabbage or a carrot from the roof of the hen house for them to peck at, this distracts them from pecking each other

If you have your flock is confined in a shed or pen, at first sign of cannibalism smear red anti pick solution on the wounded birds, smear some on a few other birds too.
Install red lights, paint the windows red or cover with red plastic or paper (give a stained glass look to the room or shed).
The rosy hue will make it much more difficult for the birds to identify any bloody sores or open wounds on other birds, this will discourage more picking.

You can also add barley or alfalfa to the rations, each bird will have something to pick at to help to alleviate their boredom, which may be the reason for the picking

You could also feed them less but feed them more times during the day, this will also give them something else to concentrate on rather than the vents or other parts of birds they have pecked at.

If all else fails, you may have to de-beak the birds, this helps to alleviate the problem in the large hatcheries, but it is rather sadistic, but if your not prepared to cull the offending bird(s), this may end up being your only other alternative, but you don’t get any guarantees with this either, they could still be nasty little critters to each other, and you still may have to cull the culprits.


copied from: http://forum.backyardpoultry.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=7955021

 

[chookchick]

Great information above--a lot to work with!
For right now I would--remove the one that has been pecked (you can keep her crated within the coop). Watch them closely and see if there is just one aggressor, you may think about removing her for a while. Give them some wet cat food, or unsalted fish or meat, for an instant protein boost and up their daily protein intake. Make sure they have enough room, and some "toys" such as cabbage heads to keep them occupied.