None stop issues

[JadeB]

Hi there, I’ve been a chicken owner for about a year now. For 8 months we had no issues, just 5 happy Orpington chickens all getting on fine. Then in December we had one of our girls go into a real hard moult and then her sisters began pecking at her pin feathers and badly bruised her neck. So I had to separate her for a couple of months, she stayed in the run but in her own gated off area where they could see each other but not get to her. Half way through her recovery another of them began doing the same thing and she was getting pecked, so I put her in with the original hen. That all went fine. But then feather pecking became a real issue to the point one of my other girls had a bare bum. We tried everything, all the sprays, tar, separating. Nothing worked, so we used pinless peepers, which stopped the pecking but caused sores on my chickens beak because the Orpington’s are just too big for the peepers. The pecking started to chill out. But then I ended up with one of the hens getting an impacted crop, that one was an old expensive visit to the vets but got sorted in the end. And the latest is the one with the bare bum wasn’t growing her feathers back, even though separated, it was getting worse so I then deduced it was vent gleet. And I’ve now found another chicken with discharge coming from her vent, feathers missing from her bum and clear pecking marks, so I’ve separated her too. I don’t know where I’m going wrong. They have a 4 meter by 3 meter run, and a similar sort of area maybe a bit bigger that’s outdoors gated off for them to graze and explore. I clean them out twice a day. The only thing I can think of is a store their feed in black plastic tubs and the feed may have spoiled or be old as I always keep topping up the box before I’ve totally run out, so maybe there’s old feed in there. I also before Christmas got into a bad habit of giving them too many treats. Which I’ve cut back dramatically on. But I worry about them getting bored and pecking each other. Sorry it’s a long post but I’m at my wits end with it all. For 3 months it’s been nothing but issues.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

What is the protein content of your current feed? Are you open to cutting treats entirely and trying different things for enrichment?

 

[MROO]

Have you figured out which birds are the aggressors?
Pulling the bully for awhile lets the rest of the flock reset the pecking order. When the bully gets brought back, she'll start at the bottom of the order, and that generally fixes the issue.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

They have a 4 meter by 3 meter run, and a similar sort of area maybe a bit bigger that’s outdoors gated off for them to graze and explore

How big is the coop, the enclosed area where they sleep?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

So the run is about 12 x 9 ', or 108 sq ft. That's huge for 5 chickens, it gives them almost 22 sq ft each. What kind of enrichment do you have in there for them? Are there things for them to climb on, swing on, hide behind (but not get trapped in), open-ended tunnels, etc.? If there are no "toys" to engage their interest, they have no option but to pick on each other.

 

[Altairsky]

What are you feeding them?
If everything was fine for months and then they suddenly started to cannibalize each other exactly at molting time, then it's most likely a protein deficiency. Add more protein to their daily ration. If they want meat so bad they're eating each other, give them meat. Minced beef, organ meat, boiled chicken, fish, whatever is cheaper.
Even the health issues might be caused by nutritional deficiencies. It takes months for a nutritional deficiency to show up, and it can be dramatic. It also takes months for nutritional deficiencies to disappear after correcting the diet.
Try a different brand of feed, 20% all flock or if you can't find it, feed them chickstarter with oyster shells on the side, free choice.
In the mean time, add daily high protein meat/fish treats.

 

[Debbie292d]

Hi,

Sorry for your frustration.

Feather picking can be caused by several things, but the two most common are a lack of protein and overcrowding.

Adult chickens should have 4 square feet per bird in their coops, and 15 square feet each in their run. Less than that, and boredom, anxiety, etc. can set in.

You can either supplement protein every day or every couple of days, or switch to an all-flock with 20% protein, then supplement with oyster shell on the side. We feed everyone here, chicks, chickens, and ducks, Kalmbach's Flock Maker crumbles.

Vent gleet usually is a whitish yellowish discharge from the vent that stinks. If you really believe your hen or hens have that, get some Monistat or the equivalent, and after bathing and drying their beehinds, smear some of that on their vents and give them a small amount, like pea-size on your finger, orally. Do this a couple of times a day for three or four days and that should take care of it.

I'd get some probiotics for their water. Hydro-hen is one, but there are many. Kalmbach's makes one called Lifeguard which is crumbles that can be mixed into their feed. You could also give them each about 1/4 cup of yogurt, Greek yogurt is best, per day for a few days. I'd do the probiotics in water or feed a couple of times a week to prevent it from recurring. Plus, that balances their flora and helps their digestive tract.

 

[Perris]

what @Altairsky said. x2.