Pecking order

[Ashchicken]

I have some pecking order issues, though I have a 680 square foot run, my coop is only 49 square feet. I thought it was of adequate size because it is a 7ft by 7ft shed, that is about 8 feet high. They seemed to all fit, I have one large perch that only gets 50% full and a couple of tables the rest sleep on. Through this forum I am hearing that it is the cause of the some of the chickens getting pecked. Now moving forward, how do I deal with this issue? Do I have to make another coop, there fore reducing the size of my run, or is there any other way possible to make this coop work? Will adding more roosting perches help? I love all of my chickens and would like to be able to utilize the size of the run, I currently have 30 chickens.

Also, how can I tell the differences between molting and getting picked on? Thanks your help.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

30 birds will never live harmonious in a 7x7 shed. They will eventually start to peck each other in an attempt to get rid of members. You need a much bigger shed for those numbers, or you need to get rid of more than half for sure.

How old are these birds? And where are you located?

 

[Spartan22]

30 chickens for 49 sq ft is on on the crowded end, that could have handled 10 maybe 15 chickens but pushing it. Now since you have 8’ coop will you able to add more multiple level perches up high? And lots of perches on your big run too? Roofing part of your run will also serve as a sheltered area that some lower order chickens can use as their night home but depends on where you located, if up north, you probably needed to enclose in the winter months. Multiple feeders and waterers will definitely help with crowded situation since provisions for survival make a big part on bullying.

 

[Ashchicken]

I can definitely add more perches, my perch now has 6 bars each 5ft across and is about 6 ft high. Someone told me that I may not be opening the coop up early enough in the morning. Is this something that could help? Does anybody know how to tell the difference between molting and pecking order feather loss?

 

[ellenscoop]

YOu can tell the difference by just watching and observing.

 

[PetesChicks]

7x7 coop is only big enough for 12 birds, at the minimum of 4 sq. ft. per bird. Each chicken takes up about 1 square foot of floor space, that leaves you with about 19 sq. ft. of space unoccupied for them to move around in. That’s not enough room to move without bumping into another chicken at every turn. Some people will go less than that, but mostly in warm climates where they will only sleep in the coop and spend the rest of their time outside in the run.

Being in Colorado, I’m assuming you get winter weather. They are most likely going to spend a lot of time cooped up, and you would be better off giving even more than the 4 sq. ft. per bird, maybe 6 or 8.

I have 8 in my coop now, and they have about 90-100 sq. ft. 5 are only about 10-11 weeks, and 2 are Silkies, so they are small. I’m already planning on adding more visual barriers in the coop, so the shy ones can hide from the bullies. Last winter, with 4 girls in the coop, they spent days at a time inside. I would check the run every day, no chicken tracks. When it got over 30’, they would start going out again. My coop is a 10x16 shed, with about 6’ blocked off for supplies and stuff, including their nest boxes. I couldn’t picture having 30 in there, even if they had the whole 160 sq ft to themselves, over a cold snowy winter.

 

[PetesChicks]

I can definitely add more perches, my perch now has 6 bars each 5ft across and is about 6 ft high. Someone told me that I may not be opening the coop up early enough in the morning. Is this something that could help? Does anybody know how to tell the difference between molting and pecking order feather loss?

Can you attach a picture of the inside of your coop? I don’t see how you could fit that many roosts in a coop that size. They should be, at the very least, a foot apart. If you have 6, that would take up your whole coop. Maybe I’m misunderstanding the setup, though.

 

[aart]

Did you not like the answers you got in this duplicate thread?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/pecking-order.1259600/