hens killing eachother

[flight]

I have some Buff Wellingtons that I had to separate from my other chickens because they were fighting ALL of the time. I don't know if they are just mean birds or what. After I moved them they started to kill one another I started with seven hens and now am down to four. If I give them treats that take them some time to eat then I do not have any dead chicks. However if I miss a day or don't go out soon enough to give them the treat then I have a dead bird. I wanted this to be fun I just thought that these hens were very cute. Has anyone had this problem or know what I should do?

Thanks for the help

 

[Karlachix]

I"m so sorry. I had a hen die from picking a week ago, and two more had bloody backs. I made saddles of duct tape to cover thier backs and things seem to be going better. We've also enlarged their coop size.

 

[Colored Egg Farmer]

sometimes coop size is a factor they might feel a little to confined and be fighting for space. How old are these chickens?

 

[flight]

They are 6 months old. They are in a pretty large coop now. They are not realy plucking they are hollowing out the chicken.

 

[chookchick]

Wow, that is really awful! Please give us some more info so we can help you! What is their normal feed? Do they have it available all the time? How big is their coop and run? Can you observe them and see if there is one instigator--the others may just be following her lead. Good luck!

 

[flight]

I am feeding them scratch and starter/grower I give it to them twice a day. the coop is a 3x3 the run is the same. I have not seen just one that is the instigator they are all mean. Everytime I go in I get pecked they just don't seem to be happy birds. I am not however ready to give up on them.

 

[Colored Egg Farmer]

I had kinda the same problem. lost 15 out of 30 chickens but they finally stopped. They were the worst chickens I ever had. People say chickens can be the nicest thing ever but they can also be the meanest.

 

[flight]

what kind of chickens were they?

 

[Colored Egg Farmer]

They were Red Sexlinks but I have had many, many other flocks of them and they came out perfectly. Sometimes things just go bad.

 

[chickenma]

Can you separate them for a while util you figure out what is wrong