I think my chickens are killing eachother

[AmaiahTH]

Hi all,

I recently got 10 hens (RIR's) which are cooped up with our 2 Chinese geese at night. However, this morning I found a dead chicken in our coop for the second day in a row. The face of the first chicken was very heavily pecked at as you can see on the picture below (Warning: Gory), the second chicken got a 'cleaner' death but still has peckmarks.

Chicken 1: https://ibb.co/nPtyQS6
Chicken 2: https://ibb.co/FnmvBQY

The only predators we have around here are snakes and I've looked extensively but couldn't find a sign of any snakes near the coop. It also would seem odd to me as snakes generally wouldn't just kill a chicken without eating it. I've been observing my chickens closely but I see no signs of aggression or bullying between them nor have I seen any from the geese (besides the occasional snap when they are eating).

I'm not really sure what to do at this point, I can leave the geese outside at night but then there's not really a way to seperate the chickens, and even I did that temporarily I don't see how that would solve the problem long term.

Has anyone had any similar experiences or any advice on what to do?

 

[AmaiahTH]

A friend of mine said I could try adding one of his roosters to the flock. Does this usually help with hen aggression or will it only make things worse?

 

[21hens-incharge]

I wish it were under better circumstances.

So.....normal causes of pecking deaths

Space (not enough and things get brutal)

Illness (sick birds are attacked to drive them from the flock. In nature the sick leave. In confinement they die horrible deaths.)

There may be predators around that you have not seen. I am not saying it was or wasn't a predator.....just that they are everywhere.

 

[AmaiahTH]

I wish it were under better circumstances.

So.....normal causes of pecking deaths

Space (not enough and things get brutal)

Illness (sick birds are attacked to drive them from the flock. In nature the sick leave. In confinement they die horrible deaths.)

There may be predators around that you have not seen. I am not saying it was or wasn't a predator.....just that they are everywhere.

Hi thanks for the reply!

They have a very large coop so it's definitely not the space. The sickness is what I'm currently concerned about, tho I'd expect to see some symptoms if there was an illness.

Regarding the predators, there's none native where I live, there's no badgers/foxes/coyotes/wolves/raccoons/skunks etc. around at all so unless some squirrels have gone rabid this seems really unlikely.

 

[NatJ]

I can leave the geese outside at night but then there's not really a way to seperate the chickens, and even I did that temporarily I don't see how that would solve the problem long term.

I suggest you leave the geese out for the next night or two. If you find a dead chicken when the geese are out, then you know the geese didn't do it.

They have a very large coop so it's definitely not the space.

How large is the coop? (Feet or meters each way)

Regarding the predators, there's none native where I live, there's no badgers/foxes/coyotes/wolves/raccoons/skunks etc. around at all so unless some squirrels have gone rabid this seems really unlikely.

Where do you live?

Are there dogs and cats? Maybe someone had a pet ferret and it got away from them?

The sickness is what I'm currently concerned about, tho I'd expect to see some symptoms if there was an illness.

I would also expect to see symptoms, so I'm puzzled about that.

Could you put a camera in the coop during the night, to record what happens? If no other chickens die, the camera will never tell what happened, but if deaths continue, it could help figure out what is happening.

 

[AmaiahTH]

Yes we'll definitely be leaving the geese out.

How large is the coop? (Feet or meters each way)

it's about 12 square meeters, for 10 chickens (8 now) and 2 geese.

Where do you live?

I live in Thailand. Dogs are not possible as we have a large perimeter wall, cats are a possiblity but with any such larger animal I'd expect to see a clear sign of entry as the coop is closed pretty well.

I'm looking at camera options but the issue is that it's on the back of the property and we have no power outlets/internet nearby, so not sure how we'd go about that.

Do you think adding a rooster might solve the problem?

 

[NatJ]

it's about 12 square meeters, for 10 chickens (8 now) and 2 geese.

I usually work with square feet, so I had google convert it: 129 square feet.
I agree, that should be big enough

I live in Thailand. Dogs are not possible as we have a large perimeter wall, cats are a possiblity but with any such larger animal I'd expect to see a clear sign of entry as the coop is closed pretty well.

I think I agree with you.

I'm looking at camera options but the issue is that it's on the back of the property and we have no power outlets/internet nearby, so not sure how we'd go about that.

I don't know much about cameras--maybe some run on batteries?

Do you think adding a rooster might solve the problem?

Unfortunately, it depends on what the problem is.
If the problem is a small predator, or some hens picking on other hens, a rooster might help.
If the problem is caused by the geese or by an illness, a rooster will not help.

Is there anything in the coop that could injure a chicken's head? Because if one got injured, the others might pick at the injury. A nail sticking out somewhere? A sharp corner on the door or the feeder or something?

 

[AmaiahTH]

Yea, I think that the most likely issue is Hens picking on eachother and so in that case it seems like a rooster would be a good solution. I'd love to have the chickens checked out for illness by a vet but I did some asking around and it seems that the only vet specialised in poultry is available on wednesday, at this rate there won't be many chickens left at that point.

I just went and checked to take out some sharp edged pieces from the coop, found a nail and 2 sharp edged piece of metal attached to the wall. Guess we'll never know if if that's what caused the problem but I took them out to be sure.

Given that my friend offered me a rooster I think that's our best bet for now as it's the only solution I can think of that we can actually implement today. I'll seperate the geese, introduce the rooster and hope we won't have any new casualties in the morning.

 

[NatJ]

That sounds like a reasonable plan. I hope it works!

I'm pretty thoroughly puzzled here, so I've just been asking questions in hopes something would become obvious

 

[TheOddOneOut]

Hi all,

I recently got 10 hens (RIR's) which are cooped up with our 2 Chinese geese at night. However, this morning I found a dead chicken in our coop for the second day in a row. The face of the first chicken was very heavily pecked at as you can see on the picture below (Warning: Gory), the second chicken got a 'cleaner' death but still has peckmarks.

Chicken 1: https://ibb.co/nPtyQS6
Chicken 2: https://ibb.co/FnmvBQY

The only predators we have around here are snakes and I've looked extensively but couldn't find a sign of any snakes near the coop. It also would seem odd to me as snakes generally wouldn't just kill a chicken without eating it. I've been observing my chickens closely but I see no signs of aggression or bullying between them nor have I seen any from the geese (besides the occasional snap when they are eating).

I'm not really sure what to do at this point, I can leave the geese outside at night but then there's not really a way to seperate the chickens, and even I did that temporarily I don't see how that would solve the problem long term.

Has anyone had any similar experiences or any advice on what to do?

What conditions are they living in?