Hens attacking and killing each other

[allpeepedout]

Sounds like lots of good suggestions. You might also try increasing effective space in your coop vertically, like installing more roosts, shelves, wooden boxes, or even old lawn furniture, so they have more places to hang out and escape. Four sq. ft. per bird might be standard advice but that sure seems crowded to me, especially if they are cooped up all day. I have only seven in about that space, and they are chomping at the bit to get outside if I am late turning them out. Hope you can figure it out soon. Best wishes.

 

[crowe]

Hi All,

Thanks for the great help.

I have:

1. Bought two red balls and put in coop
2. Hung a cabbage up, which is already 1/3 gone
3. Added 4 more roosts, and another high place for them to play on
4. Added another food station, and will add another water station tomorrow
4. Shovelled a lot of snow in their pen so they can get out more
5. Circled the barn to look for predator tracks, saw none
6. Going to install an automatic door so that they get access to the pen each day as well

Thanks again for all the help, will post an update in a week.

Colin

 

[kelidei]

Quote:
sounds like it.

I thought this too... but if are able to determine that it is the other birds you can try pinless peepers I have used them with success. I had a feather picking problem and the peepers stopped it.

 

[Dierdre123]

I am having almost the same experience, and am desperate for a solution. We started with one hen house in a run of approx 40' x 25 feet. 5 beautful hens were left when we bought our house and we enjoyed them for a few years, then one by one they died of old age, between 9 - 11 years old. So when the first 2 died I got 3 ex-battery rescues and these 3 flourished, grew feathers etc., and we bought a second coup at this time to make sure the new girls didnt feel overwhelmed, but everyone got on fine. Then we got a further 3 ex-bats, and 2 cuckoo marans.

First the cuckoo marans started pecking the poor little ex-bats and our old original girls, The we lost all 3 old girls, one after the other with terrible wounds to ther vents, and their insides practically pulled out. We couldnt understand what was going on, so separated the new ex-bats to protect them. Then we saw the Marans chasing the ex-bats, pecking at their vents, with one ex-bat joining in the bullying. I read books, spoke to the vet, we had the Marans wings clipped again, but they continued to fly over a 4 foot fence and killed another ex-bat, so we took the offender to the Vet and had her put down. The last ex-bat now lives outside of the chicken run in the garden, and comes into the downstairs loo at night in a big cat carrier as the remaining Maran and ex-bat will kill her if I put her in the run. They try to peck her through the fence and have drawn blood as stupid "Lizzy" keeps running up to say hello.

Has anyone any clue why some of my chickens have turned canibal. They are great egg layers, but we really got them for sort of pets as well as egg layers. They have a huge run, the best food, we tried all the anti-pecking solutions, toys in the run etc etc., but I have to wait till they die now until I will even think of starting again, and even then having lost the most affectionate and gentle girls, is making me very nervous about starting again.

 

[Naser]

May be beak trimming, what I mean is "beak blunting" that you remove the sharp part with a nail clipper, it doesn't seem to painful.
The other option is to get rid of the bullies and get docile breed.
A good rooster may help but you have to be lucky as not all roosters will prevent bullying, the one I have now does

 

[Dierdre123]

Thanks, but the two main killers are the Maran and an ex-bat, and the ex-bat has a trimmed beak. It is so sad as she was in such a sorry state when she came, terrified and the bottom of the order, but now she is the main bully. I think we have to get rid of them and start again, its just a shame to put down two healthy good layers. Thanks

 

[Naser]

If the beaks are sharp you can blunt them again, if the ex-bat are the red star, they can be aggressive the are "roughty toughty", for this reason I don't keep red star, Maran can be bully too. some breeds are much better, like light sussex white leghorn and many others.

 

[Dierdre123]

Thanks for the advice, will stay away from these 2 breeds in future, and try blunting the beaks a bit more. Appreciated