I dead and another bleeding .... Please help.....

[RoosterRidge]

Quote:
Sharon thank you so much for responding again. At first I thought broken neck and that they had pecked her just because that is what they do. But we checked everyone last night and that is when I found the one I have in a quiet room, in the nesting box. I turned her around and saw her butt was tore up real bad. I checked everyones butts really well last night. When I found the other one dead this morning she also had a bloody behind. I try to feed them veggies and stuff like that everyday. So much for that. I feel like such a failure. Not sure if I have mentioned this or not but they were RSL. I have checked them for mites and lice. I can't find anything on them. No blood spots or fecal waste. They look healthy other than the bloody behinds. Well they looked healthy.

 

[TWAdams]

I would say you have at least one that is pecking the other ones. The last batch we got came from a place that was over crowed, all the feathers on the butts were picked clean. when we got home a watched them for hours and found two that were doing the pecking. i removed them and the chickens have more room here. Now they are growing feathers back and no more problems. Hope you dont lose any more, and very sorry for you loss. Our chickens are also a part of our family.

 

[welasharon]

I have both children and grandkids and still cry like a baby when something happens to one of mine. Hopefully we can help you figure it out. You have to be the eyes and ears...all we can do is try to guide you. It's a puzzle but it is solvable. Get out there and observe, observe, observe and let us know what you see. It is only happening in the coop yes?
sharon

 

[welasharon]

Sorry, I got diverted before typing the last response. I really think you have an overcrowding issue. Is there any way you can watch them in the coop to see who is picking? You may need to start planning how to give them more room. How are the roosts set up? Is it possible that that is contributing to the picking?
sharon

 

[NewToFarming]

Just a different thought. Can anything else get in at them? Such as something small like a rat or something? Is there any chance they can get into anything like poison? You will need to remove the new pecked girl or they will pick at her as well. Gosh I am so sorry this is happening and it is so hard not knowing for sure. I hope you can get this sorted out fast!!!!

Do you see any hen being particularly aggressive to the others? Is any of them displaying top hen status?

 

[welasharon]

Quote:
Now that's a good idea too.

 

[Darklingstorm]

If you have the means, I would install a web cam or other surveillance camera to see what is going on. If it's happening at night, you might need to install a light too.

How many chickens do you have and what are their ages?

 

[RoosterRidge]

This is the coop.... There was none of this pecking going on until I had them stay in the coop for about a half a day because of heavy rains.... Could they be mad because they didn't get out to free range.... I took them treats of veggies several times those days.... They were still able to go out into the run....

 

[Cosmopolis Chick]

Quote:
As I was reading along in the posts this was my thought - that you have one really mean hen (vampire). I had one vicious ol' girl, I finally got rid of her and the kingdom is peacable once again. She did not peck anybody bloody (yet), she just screamed and pecked toward everybody, also chased various ones relentlessly.

A second thought I'd had but later discarded, maybe one of your hems has a prolapsed vent? But that is not overly common and would not explain multiple girls going down.

Hey, if the injuries are occurring at night IN THE DARK, it is not your hens starting starting the wound. It's some mouse or rat getting in and your girls showing interest as dawn breaks and they see the blood. Chickens hardly move all night, they can't see in the dark and they get kind of hypnotized when asleep. If the injuries are during daylight hours (which it seems you'd said) it's unlikely rodents, they generally come around in the dark.

I know you feel terrible, and I feel for you. I hope the whole thing is cleared up real soon.

p.s. oh, and I think your coop is plenty big enough.
Oh, and I don't shut mine up for any kind of weather, storm, wind, rain, or snow. Even though they only have chicken brains they know how much they can take (even the Silkie). I just make absolutely sure that the door to the coop is not going to blow shut! That would be bad.

 

[turtlebird]

First and foremost, you are overcrowded.
Coop has enough space for 21 chickens at the recommended 4 sq/ft per chicken. Many will recommend more space per bird is better. I have overcrowded a coop before also and had problems. You run is big enough for 7.5 birds if my calculations are correct. BUt you do let them out. That helps. Nest boxes seem good.
Here is what I would do immediately:
1) remove any injured birds
2) observe for bullies, any bullies go into the soup pot or get a nice pair of pinless peepers
3) skip the cracked corn, this might be lowering the % protein in the feed simply by displacement
4) give BOSS (black oil sunflower seed) as a replacement treat. Contains protein and also some essential amino acids that they may otherwise look for in tastey feathers.
5) sometimes cannibalism can be remedied by offering feed with animal source protien...I mix my 16% Layena with a 20% layer supplement that has porcine (swine)protein source
you can throw a handful of dry catfood in there, but the salt content is a little high, watch out - don't give too much, but works in a pinch
6) distraction to remedy boredom would help. I LOVE flock blocks. Head of lettuce, apples, gi-normous zucchinis...whatever you have
7) cover your next box openings 3/4 of the way down with a curtain for privacy and darkness
Someone in your flock has figured out that when a hen is laying, some very tender skin in the vent area is exposed and if they disturb that area then they can find some very very yummy blood. Offender(s) need to be stopped and removed before they teach everyone.
8) watch for egg-bound hens. I have seen this in my hybrid layers, I don't know why. They have needed a little help when coming into lay...seems the eggs come before their systems are completely ready for it....vaseline or olive oil (in a pinch) to help lubricate the vent if an egg is stuck is all I have had to do.
This is a not so fun part of chicken raising, sorry you have to deal with this.....be gentle with yourself and patient with your flock. Watch them closely.
I hope things settle down and that you can get them beyond this.
HANG IN THERE!

ETA: After reading back over the other posts, I actually don't know how many chickens you even have.....soooo, maybe skip the info about being overcrowded

Sorry 'bout that