My hen is peking all the others ( images included)

[Poultry Kitten]

I have a hen and I believe she is pecking at the others. I do think she is highest on the pecking order as well. (She is pictured below.)

She is pecking these other hens (pictured below)

I suspect that she is pecking them while they are in the coop. I am unsure if there is a way to prevent this but if there is I would love to know. Or if you any have any ideas of what this could be if they aren’t being pecked. But I doubt it is mites because I have checked them for mites many times and sprayed their coop.

 

[krissyweso]

My mother-in-law had an issue with all her hens pecking at her polish rooster's head, but it was only at night in the coop, so she just had him sleep in a different coop at night til his feathers all grew back, and then it wasn't an issue anymore. Maybe if you did that and let your other hen's bald spots grow back, it could stop? Those bald spots are kind of targets to other chickens.

Also, I'm sure you've seen it, but there is this purple/black paste you can get (the brand I have is "peck no more"), and it has a strong smell and a taste that chickens apparently don't like (like teatree-ish) that is supposed to keep them from pecking. It has worked with some of my chickens and has not worked for others.

Just a couple ideas! But I have not had this exact problem (yet).

 

[My Three Chicks]

How much space do you have for them? Not having enough space can lead to pecking and feather plucking.

 

[BDutch]

A hen that is high in the pecking will peck on the head to let the other chickens know to back off.
This looks more like feather pecking and is maybe a stress problem (too little space and hiding places) or maybe caused by unbalanced feed.
I would seperate the pecker so the other two can heal and look for some info about required space.

General advice for stressless chickens: 4m2 run space each for normal sized chickens, from sunrise till roost time. Free ranging a few hours each days helps but is probably not enough since the omlet coop and run are rather small.
Please tell us more about the space /lock up time and the feed they get If you like further help.

 

[Poultry Kitten]

At night chickens don’t peck. But in the morning after sunrise the coop is too small to stay inside. An automatic pop door could do wonders.

I have an automatic door for them.

 

[BDutch]

I have have 4 hens in a Omlet Cube with 9ft of run. I let them out about 1-2 hours daily to hang out in avian fencing with plenty of room. I feed them Purina Layerna pellets and food scraps and other treats.

Is it possible to spend a little more time with them to see how they behave?
If it really is the head hen who pecks in the chest I would set the pecker apart. But I believe it’s a rather strange spot to peck. Normally feather peckers, peck at the but/tail area (from reading, no experience myself).

Besides that I think 9sqft runspace is not much. Its better to double that to reduce stress. And if you are still suspicious about feather pecking, I would reduce the scraps and treats to max 25% for a while. Maybe this combination will help to eliminate any unwanted pecking other than the normal back off pecking. But bad habits are often not very easy to solve.

 

[50-45-1]

Pinless peepers.
A hen of mine was a feather picker and after wearing the peepers for 6 weeks, ae was cured.

 

[Poultry Kitten]

My mother-in-law had an issue with all her hens pecking at her polish rooster's head, but it was only at night in the coop, so she just had him sleep in a different coop at night til his feathers all grew back, and then it wasn't an issue anymore. Maybe if you did that and let your other hen's bald spots grow back, it could stop? Those bald spots are kind of targets to other chickens.

Also, I'm sure you've seen it, but there is this purple/black paste you can get (the brand I have is "peck no more"), and it has a strong smell and a taste that chickens apparently don't like (like teatree-ish) that is supposed to keep them from pecking. It has worked with some of my chickens and has not worked for others.

Just a couple ideas! But I have not had this exact problem (yet).

I think it is only happening in the coop at night but all of those ideas sound awesome thanks so much.

 

[21hens-incharge]

They are all the same age and I just assumed that she was pecking the others,

Age in months or years is needed please.

It's molting time for many and I see new feathers growing in.

If over a year old they could be molting.

 

[BDutch]

I think it is only happening in the coop at night but all of those ideas sound awesome thanks so much.

At night chickens don’t peck. But in the morning after sunrise the coop is too small to stay inside. An automatic pop door could do wonders.