Newbie needs help...2 y/o hens becoming agressive/strange

[Hen-rietta]

Hi there,

I've been checking out BYC for a little over a year now but just became a "subscribing member" yesterday because I have a couple of questions. We had chickens when I was young but they were food not pets so I never paid attention to them. Then a few years ago I wanted to get chickens for myself. I did all of the research I could before getting them. Then my neighbor said she was moving and couldn't take her chickens and asked if I would take them for her. Of course I said yes! My daughter renamed them Emma and Emily.

She gave me everything...2 hens about 2 years old, coop, run, food, everything. So, other than their location, not much has changed. Their coop is the same size, as is the run. I even buy the same food that she used to. I feed them kitchen scraps just as she did, and I let them run around in my yard for 30 minutes or so each night to stretch their legs. They even get along with my dog...as long as he isn't standing too close. They used to be in a fenced in yard and she would let them out to run around now and then.

I noticed this week (yes, it's only Wednesday, I know) that they have been laying a few less eggs and one of them has been pooping in the nesting box. Tonight, I let them out to graze (no dog this time) after a few moments of eating grass, Emily sneezed, at least that's what I think it was, but she had a piece of grass in her mouth (or maybe stuck in her throat) and it made her sneeze sound just like when we used to blow through the grass as kids to make a whistling sound. She sneezed several times and Emma got fed up and jumped on her neck/head. I swatted her away and all was fine.

A short while later I noticed Emily had something stuck to her foot, "probably poo", I thought but wanted to check it out anyway. I grabbed her and waited a couple of seconds to make sure I had a good grip before picking her up. Emma attacked her head, with claws and beak! What is going on with my girls? Is Emily sick and Emma is taking advantage of the situation? Help please!

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

Sometimes the flock leader will go after another bird that they think might cause the flock danger. I know what you are talking about when the bird sneezed and it sounded like blowing thru grass. She was actually coughing it out. My birds will do that and my flock leader will also come over and sometime peck at her comb when she is coughing. It is a protection thing for the flock for all sick birds to be run off.

As for the poo on the foot, probably the same thing. You probably have an aggressive flock leader. I have one like this and when she was younger, she was very aggressive with the other hens. I had to use pinless peepers on her on and off for about 2 years to keep the other hens safe.

But just to be sure, give this hen that is being picked on, an overall exam from beak to tail. Check her over for mites and lice, injuries, bumblefoot, pale comb, crop issues, anything that might be going on with her that might have this more aggressive hen to be acting out on her.

Some hens will poop in the boxes while laying, but make sure they are not eating the eggs. They could also be laying the somewhere out while free ranging as well.

Good luck with your flock and if you have any more questions, that is what we are here for. Welcome to our flock!

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! TwoCrows gave you some good advice. Check Emily over very carefully, the pooping in the nest box would concern me if it has just started recently. What does her vent look like, is it clean? Is she still roosting at night or has she taken to sleeping in the nest boxes? They will lay less eggs as they get older, but has there been a sudden decrease or do you think Emily has just stopped laying?

 

[Hen-rietta]

Thank you for the warm welcome and most helpful advise. I feel better hearing that it's not completely out of the norm for this to be happening. I will be sure to check both of them over carefully.

I don't think they are eating the eggs as there isn't any sign of an egg anywhere. I searched the whole small coop and I usually take them out when I come home for lunch so they are fresh laid. Usually they lay between 9 AM and noon. The nesting box was clearly disturbed as they had pushed all of the shavings up the sides and out the front of the box as well. The bottom of the box was clear, not a single shaving. No poo in the box today though.

I read in a post (don't remember which one) that you can soak them in apple cider vinegar (acv) to help get rid of a bunch of things, from lice and mites to "yucky butt". Any thoughts on this would be helpful, thanks!

 

[Hen-rietta]

Hi Kelsie2290! Her feathers look fine when she is walking around but I have noticed over the last week or so that the feathers that are normally hidden, near her vent, are kind of yucky. I only see this occasionally though. It comes and goes. Maybe my kitchen scraps are different than my neighbor and I should try just one or two things at a time or does it have nothing to do with the food?

As for the pooping in the nesting box, that is recent. I've had them a little over a month now and this has just started. That was why it concerned me. I'm not sure if she is sleeping in there but sometimes when I come home for lunch, or if I check it between 9 and noon when they sometimes lay, she is in the box...just sitting there. Other times, she's out and active. I do plan on adjusting the coop a little as I've noticed that they can sometime knock down the roosting bar and I find it laying on the floor.

Oh, and someone mentioned to me that sometimes they just poop while laying. The eggs don't have any poop on them. They are clean, so I don't think that is the problem. It seems like a separate problem.

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

Welcome to BYC.

 

[Hen-rietta]

Thank you Mr. MKK Farms!

 

[gander007]

Everything sounds normal to me and you have received some good advice above

 

[Hen-rietta]

Update...I didn't come home for lunch today as work bought us lunch and I figured I should stick around for it. The girl that had the hens before didn't pick up the eggs until she got home at night sometimes so it shouldn't have been a problem, except that when I got home, one was in the nest but with a hole in it, otherwise, in tact though. All of the liquid was there. The other egg was in the middle of the coop and broken open, mostly eaten and liquid egg was everywhere. The roosting bar was on the floor...again. Should I worry that they will continue to eat the eggs? What do I do if they do?

I let them out to graze again figuring I'd pick up one at a time and check them out. When we first got them I picked them up a few times and have a little bit since then but not every day as they didn't seem to like it much. They didn't fuss about it but still, they didn't seem to care for it. Now, I can't figure out how to pick them up and check them out thoroughly without feeling awkward (for both of us). I did pick up one and cradle her in my arms like I saw on a video for trimming their nails but I couldn't get at her vent feathers that way. Is there a video somewhere that will help me figure out the best way to hold them to check them out? Or can someone explain it to me? I'm trying not to think I'm doing something wrong and worry much about them but they have obviously changed since I received them a month ago.

 

[TwoCrows]

Update...I didn't come home for lunch today as work bought us lunch and I figured I should stick around for it. The girl that had the hens before didn't pick up the eggs until she got home at night sometimes so it shouldn't have been a problem, except that when I got home, one was in the nest but with a hole in it, otherwise, in tact though. All of the liquid was there. The other egg was in the middle of the coop and broken open, mostly eaten and liquid egg was everywhere. The roosting bar was on the floor...again. Should I worry that they will continue to eat the eggs? What do I do if they do?

I let them out to graze again figuring I'd pick up one at a time and check them out. When we first got them I picked them up a few times and have a little bit since then but not every day as they didn't seem to like it much. They didn't fuss about it but still, they didn't seem to care for it. Now, I can't figure out how to pick them up and check them out thoroughly without feeling awkward (for both of us). I did pick up one and cradle her in my arms like I saw on a video for trimming their nails but I couldn't get at her vent feathers that way. Is there a video somewhere that will help me figure out the best way to hold them to check them out? Or can someone explain it to me? I'm trying not to think I'm doing something wrong and worry much about them but they have obviously changed since I received them a month ago.

Egg eating is a hard habit to break. I had it going in my flock for a while as I have a hen that lays a lot of yolks. Once they get the taste of eggs, they never quit. But I found a solution that seems to work in my flock. Curtains over the nest boxes. I found that they won't mess with eggs that are laid in a dark box and I have never had an eaten egg inside my boxes since...


So if your birds start to go bad, you can do this to your boxes. (there are 2 boxes behind these curtains. They slip thru, lay their eggs and leave the eggs be.) However I do collect the eggs as much as possible.

As for handling your hens, chickens don't like to be picked up. That is just how they are. But they can get a bit better with more handling. I pick mine up daily just to keep the used to me doing it. They don't care for it, but they don't overly fuss either. If you are going to do an exam on them, take them out of the coop to a bench or chair. Something so you don't have to lean over them. They will usually stand still in an area they are unfamiliar with. If you have to do things like look at foot pads, or really close inspection of something, then toweling them up and laying them on their backs in your lap is the easiest way to work on them. Just stand the bird up, beak away from you, and lay one end of a big towel over the bird and wrap it around the front of the breast and around again. Then grab the entire bird and lay in your lap.