My chickens keep killing each other!

BriannaM2216

In the Brooder
Mar 12, 2018
10
3
12
Georgia
I bought six golden comets a little over a year ago and now I’m down to three. They started killing each other in October of 2017 and they stopped until today March 12, 2018. I don’t know how to stop it or what to do. My husband suggested that we kill the other three off before they kill each other, and we’ll just start over. Is there a way I can prevent from resorting to this?
 
How big is the coop? The run? Being cramped could be an issue. Are they bored? Maybe put in an old chair or stool for them to use as a new roost. Hang a head of cabbage? Not sure without a bit more information. Living area, feed and feeding routine, and I'm sure others here will have more insight than I.
 
Cannibalism is often caused by crowding or not enough protein in the diet. Could you share some more information, especially size of your coop and run and what you are feeding them?

Sex links in general have a need for a higher protein ration due to their constant egg production.

How are you finding your birds? And how old are they? Is it possible they are dying and than being cannibalized? Or are they being pecked to death?
 
How big is the coop? The run? Being cramped could be an issue. Are they bored? Maybe put in an old chair or stool for them to use as a new roost. Hang a head of cabbage? Not sure without a bit more information. Living area, feed and feeding routine, and I'm sure others here will have more insight than I.
Their coop is fairly huge. Its 7ft tall and 12 feet long. I move their coop around so they can eat grass and insects regularly. They have two objects in the coop for them to roost on also.
 
Cannibalism is often caused by crowding or not enough protein in the diet. Could you share some more information, especially size of your coop and run and what you are feeding them?

Sex links in general have a need for a higher protein ration due to their constant egg production.

How are you finding your birds? And how old are they? Is it possible they are dying and than being cannibalized? Or are they being pecked to death?
They were bought at our local Tractor supply. The breed is Golden Comets. Their coop is 7ft tall and 12ft long. They have objects to roost on and I feed them non-gmo scratch feed and non-gmo layer pellets. Occasionally I buy them a huge bag of dried millworms for them to eat. They are nearly a year old. I’ve had to seperate them from the others because they were plucking their feathers out and eventually eating their rear ends. Its really odd because in my other chicken coop I have 5 amberlink hens and a duck and I they dont peck each other or fight each other.
 
Do they just have the coop, or is there also a run? How wide is this structure. Pics would be helpful for pinpointing the issue. Until you figure out why you are having this problem with these birds, killing them all and starting over is not likely to result in a different outcome the next time around.

Also, exactly what are you feeding them, including their main ration, protein %, and mill date on the most recent bag, plus what ever else you are giving them.
 
Do they just have the coop, or is there also a run? How wide is this structure. Pics would be helpful for pinpointing the issue. Until you figure out why you are having this problem with these birds, killing them all and starting over is not likely to result in a different outcome the next time around.

Also, exactly what are you feeding them, including their main ration, protein %, and mill date on the most recent bag, plus what ever else you are giving them.
I’m currently not home at the moment but the widith is perhaps 4-5ft. I feed them non-gmo scratch feed and non-gmo layer pellets. I have a five gallon chicken feeder made out of aluminum and I fill it half way every two days. I scrub their water containers weekly to prevent anything growing in it. The last bag of mill that I bought was two week ago and it I gave them the rest of them bag about 4 days ago. I don’t exactly have the protein % since I just buy the feed and mix it all up in a bin and cover it up. Its also very weird because I have another coop that is a bit smaller than this one with amberlink hens and a duck and I do not have this problem at all. They eat the same thing as the others and the coop is 4ft tall and 10ft long and 4 ft wide. Which
 
So they have a 12ft roofed building? What's your location? Climate info can be key. What percentage of their feed do you think is scratch?
Its 12ft long and 7ft tall. It has a wood roof no shingles or anything ontop. I live in northeast Georgia. It was 84degrees last week and this week has been in the 40s so I bought some extra wheat straw to keep them a little warmer along with covering parts of the coop with tarps to prevent the wind from blowing on them. Their feed is 50/50
 

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