Pecking, how do I stop this?

[CCsGarden]

Hi, I would like to know how to stop my flock from pecking on this one hen's back end/vent area?
She went thru her molt and never grew her feathers in even though I had her inside thru the winter. Last night she had a stuck eggs so I brought her inside. What can I use?put on her to stop the pecking?

Thank you!

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

What are you feeding them? How big is your setup? Does your run have enough clutter for her to hide behind/escape to? How many chickens do you have? Need more info to help.

 

[CCsGarden]

I have a big run and coop it can fit 20 chickens but I only have 10 right now. They free range once every day while I'm outside.
Feeding the all organic layer pellets and have spaces to go hide
I have 8 nest boxes for them as well.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Hmm…define “big”. Measurements? A lot of prefab coops say they can fit 6 hens but aren’t fit for 2.

Sometimes feather-plucking is a protein thing and layer feed can be lower on the protein than some other feeds. Do you know what percent protein your feed is?

What breeds of chickens do you have?

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Also why was she inside all winter? Was it just that one hen inside?

 

[Altairsky]

I think we need to know:
-the exact measures of the run and coop
-the percentage of protein in the chicken feed.
These are the 2 main factors in feather pecking.

 

[CCsGarden]

I think we need to know:
-the exact measures of the run and coop
-the percentage of protein in the chicken feed.
These are the 2 main factors in feather pecking.

Yes, food and water at all times of the day.

 

[CCsGarden]

Also why was she inside all winter? Was it just that one hen inside?

She was molting( until she was done I let her go back out) and I have a small chicken hospital. I had 3 hens at the time, the temps were below freezing.

 

[CCsGarden]

Hmm…define “big”. Measurements? A lot of prefab coops say they can fit 6 hens but aren’t fit for 2.

Sometimes feather-plucking is a protein thing and layer feed can be lower on the protein than some other feeds. Do you know what percent protein your feed is?

What breeds of chickens do you have?

feed I use is This one from TSC.
I have
3 buffs
4 Brahmas
3 Wyandottes

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

You might want to switch to a higher protein feed but I can’t say for sure if that’s your issue because you aren’t really answering my questions. I’ve never moved a chicken into the house because it was molting even when it was freezing outside but I do know that re-introduction should be handled carefully because removing a chicken from the flock for more than a day can disturb the pecking order. It sounds like you also added more birds after that which, again, would disturb the pecking order. “We know how big it should be” isn’t really an answer because I don’t know where you got that information. You also didn’t say what breeds you have. Some breeds are more docile and prone to being picked on and other tend to be bossy. I have spent more time asking questions than getting answers in trying help you so hopefully someone else can help.