hens dying from being pecked

[BOrion]

Looks like you have received some very good advice. Isolating the bully may or may not work. She may lose pecking order and may get picked on herself, or, you may just have a "mean", overly aggressive bird.

Your call. I am a farmer and would have chicken and noodles, but, as a pet, I certainly understand your want to save her.

Another thing you can try.... people do it with roosters... not me , is to humiliate her in front of the other hens by holding her down and asserting that you are the master for 5 minutes or so.

It is natural for chickens to have an Alpha through submissive birds. It is unacceptable to have a violent bird in chicken society.

Draw blood, death row.

I say it tongue in cheek but I honestly wish you the best of luck,

Shawn

thank you Shawn. I don't know why I didn't think to try holding her down. I actually did that with my rooster when he came after me. Believe it or not I was able to catch him right when he attacked me. I held him down then carried him around for a few minutes. that did the trick. No more problems from him. I will definitely try that with my bossy bird. No, I'm a vegetarian, so no chicken and noodles for me, Thanks.

 

[NovaAman]

Personally... I would get a game cam.... and record the goings on from sun up till you actually get out there. This way, you can know for sure what is going on, who the culprit is.

Poultry drench is a nice pick me up. If she is not eating however, her systems will start shutting down. You will get the watery poo first, then the neon green and watery poop... When she gets to that point, she's having liver failure. Birds can go down hill fast. If she isn't to that point, you still have a chance to save her. Poultry drench her, and force feed her every few hours. Not just a few times a day, but literally every 3-4 hours. Poultry drench her every other feeding. You'll also need to be concerned with sour crop... so, watch for that happening. Yogurt may or may not help prevent it. Fresh crushed garlic can help... scramble it up in the egg... A bit of crumble scrambled in the egg. A wet scramble may be better/easier to get down her... by that, I mean, just don't cook it all the way through till its rubbery... but finely scrambled and still a little wet looking...

I'd also stop dumping antibiotics unless you see a clear infection. Triple antibiotic ointment may be the better choice now. Keep the wounds clean and keep the ointment applied.

 

[BOrion]

I just read something very interesting about putting vinegar in the chicken's drinking water to stop the pecking. Seems that vinegar contains some vitamins missing in the chicken's diet? Anyone every heard of this or tried it?

Since I think I only have one who is pecking, it's probably a dominance thing, but the vinegar idea was interesting.

BTW, I just took my bully buff out to the free range area and put her in a large dog crate. Before putting her in, I held her to the ground to establish my dominance. I think I'll do that 2 or 3 times a day for about a week. Of course, then my rooster and LGD had to get in the act, trying to "save" the buff. What a circus!

 

[BOrion]

Personally... I would get a game cam.... and record the goings on from sun up till you actually get out there. This way, you can know for sure what is going on, who the culprit is.

Poultry drench is a nice pick me up. If she is not eating however, her systems will start shutting down. You will get the watery poo first, then the neon green and watery poop... When she gets to that point, she's having liver failure. Birds can go down hill fast. If she isn't to that point, you still have a chance to save her. Poultry drench her, and force feed her every few hours. Not just a few times a day, but literally every 3-4 hours. Poultry drench her every other feeding. You'll also need to be concerned with sour crop... so, watch for that happening. Yogurt may or may not help prevent it. Fresh crushed garlic can help... scramble it up in the egg... A bit of crumble scrambled in the egg. A wet scramble may be better/easier to get down her... by that, I mean, just don't cook it all the way through till its rubbery... but finely scrambled and still a little wet looking...

I'd also stop dumping antibiotics unless you see a clear infection. Triple antibiotic ointment may be the better choice now. Keep the wounds clean and keep the ointment applied.

Thank you so much for the advice. It is very helpful and I will keep it for the next one. Unfortunately, we had to help her pass on to her next adventure this evening. I did get the neon green poop, but thought it was the antibiotics. Good to know it's an indication of imminent death. I still have one injured; missing an eye but on the way to recovery. I will get some poultry drench to have on hand. Thank you again. Kaye

 

[theacw]

I am sorry you lost her Sleep Well little girl

 

[soler]

the vinegar you refer to is apple cider vinegar, not the regular ones. It is wonderful! you can add about a tablespoon to a gallon of drinking water. Helps with their tummies, boosts their immune system and i think it has some mild antibiotic powers too.

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

the vinegar you refer to is apple cider vinegar, not the regular ones. It is wonderful! you can add about a tablespoon to a gallon of drinking water. Helps with their tummies, boosts their immune system and i think it has some mild antibiotic powers too.

Make sure it is the unpasturized,unfiltered kink though. Pasturizing kills the good bacteria. You can find it in the natural foods section of your grocery store. I just got some today from Fred Meyer/Kroger's

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

*kind, not kink. Fat fingers today. hahaha

 

[Octoberlyn]

I am so empathetic with your current problems. I'm new to chickens as well - don't eat meat - have gotten myself into a bit of a problem with too many roosters and don't know what to do. Then I went and got three more hens to adjust the ratio and two are sick and in quarantine while the third isn't being accepted. This is so hard!!! Hope your situation improves.

 

[BOrion]

I am so empathetic with your current problems. I'm new to chickens as well - don't eat meat - have gotten myself into a bit of a problem with too many roosters and don't know what to do. Then I went and got three more hens to adjust the ratio and two are sick and in quarantine while the third isn't being accepted. This is so hard!!! Hope your situation improves.

Oh my. Too many roosters would be bad. I am lucky in that I only have one and he's very protective of his ladies. I don't suppose you live any where near New Mexico? I have a neighbor that likes roosters.

I sat with my injured one and several other members of the flock in a secured area for a couple of hours yesterday, watching to see how my injured one would fare. Perhaps today I'll let my naughty hen (Lizzy Borden) out of chicken jail on supervised visitation for a short time. If my bossy hen goes after the injured one, I plan to hold her down on the ground to humiliate her in front of the flock. I'll let you know how that works out. I'm just wingin' it here. I never realized how time consuming chickens would be, but I sure love watching them. Now that my goats are pretty much grown up, the chickens are providing entertainment.