Odd Behavior From My Hens

freerangeandfreedom

In the Brooder
Jun 16, 2018
19
32
44
Central OK
Hi! I have a couple problems with my hens and I need some help.

I have a hen who is probably only 1 1/2 years old and I have noticed major loss of feathers between her chest and butt. Does anyone know what it could be from? I have not seen her plucking her own feathers or staying in the box due to broodyness. Also, we don’t have a Rooster...


My second question is about a recent death in the flock. We checked on the girls one morning to find one of my Buff/Americana mixes dead and maybe even partially eaten. Could that be from someone inside the flock? One of my Barred Rock hens has been very mean to the others recently, picking fights and attacking others for no reason... I am wondering if she might’ve gotten a taste for them??? I really hope that isn’t the case but I am also afraid it may be. She also pecked me and drew blood when I was holding one of the hens who was very close to the color of the one that died.

Thanks!
Catherine
 

Attachments

  • AA5604E3-F40B-4D97-BFB0-5CCBBAD3501D.jpeg
    AA5604E3-F40B-4D97-BFB0-5CCBBAD3501D.jpeg
    351.2 KB · Views: 17
Welcome! Just some ideas;
Is your coop predator proof? Could a rat or weasel get in, or a larger predator?
Have you looked at night with a flashlight for mites and lice?
Diet issues? What are you feeding?
Molting?
Hens usually won't kill each other, unless very crowded and stressed. They will eat a dead bird though.
Mary
 
Hi! I have a couple problems with my hens and I need some help.... My second question is about a recent death in the flock.... one morning [we found] one of my Buff/Americana mixes dead and maybe even partially eaten. Could that be from someone inside the flock?... One of my Barred Rock hens has been... picking fights... for no reason...

Don't fret the small stuff, your Barred Rock has a perfectly good reason to pick fights with the other hens in your flock but that means that you don't necessarily know or understand the reason for this behavior, and your Barred Rock, well she is not talking.
 
Is your coop predator proof? No, not necessarily.....

Could a rat or weasel get in, or a larger predator? Yes, probably. The only thing is that I have never had any problems with those predators. I also have a dog and two cats who almost always take care of any disturbances. We killed multiple possums last month but haven’t had any problems since. And I only had the one chicken die, also.

Have you looked at night with a flashlight for mites and lice?
No I haven’t. Will do.

Diet issues? What are you feeding?
Shouldn’t be any issues, they have eaten any bugs in our yard plus I think 15% Laying Pellets for their whole lives. Thinking about adding some oyster shell...

Molting?
Possibly, but she would be the only chicken who is.
 
Molting happens at 18-22 months old, looks kinda like an exploded dust mop,,,,
In the pic, live girl? A broody hen will pull belly feathers to keep eggs warm, could you have a hidden nest?
Make the coop kinda like Fort Knox! And lock it up at night.
 
Welcome to BYC!

maybe even partially eaten.
What does this mean? Did you take of pic of damage?
Good idea to take pics of stuff you're puzzled about, put something like a quarter or dollar bill in pic for scale.

Agrees that chickens will eat off a dead chicken, not too common but not unprecedented either.

Chicken my self-pluck due to external parasites or even to eat their own feathers.
She may be working up to being broody, are there any feathers in the nests?

Both things can happen due to a lack of protein, especially animal protein.

First, check them over real well for mites and/or lice.
Google images of lice/mites and their eggs before the inspection so you'll know what you're looking for.

Part the feathers right down to the skin around vent, head/neck and under wings.


Best done well after dark with a strong flashlight/headlight, easier to 'catch' bird and also to check for the mites that live in structure and only come out at night to feed off roosting birds.

Wipe a white paper towel along the underside of roost to look for red smears(smashed well fed mites).
 
Thank you all for your help. I don’t think I have problems with weasels because there hasn’t been another incident since, but I will keep a lookout. I also plan to check for mites tonight.
I haven’t found any feathers in the boxes or any around the coop for that matter. I also check the area regularly for eggs so if she had a hidden nest then something could’ve eaten the eggs I suppose.
My chickens have actually killed one in the past who had broken a wing. There were just 3 or 4 holes about the size of a b.b. but they didn’t mess with her other than that. This picture isn’t great but you can kind of see where something got her.
 

Attachments

  • 108182E0-8842-4784-9C2B-B50A72DC0FF9.jpeg
    108182E0-8842-4784-9C2B-B50A72DC0FF9.jpeg
    519.9 KB · Views: 9
I also forgot to mention that when my living Buff/Americana mix was in the middle of the yard, she got down in the crouched position (like when a rooster is in the area) and there were multiple other hens just going at her and pecking her.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom