Somebody is Pecking

[Momtofive86]

I have Merle, Earl, and 12 Mary's. Four are Orpingtons and the rest are Easter Eggers. I noticed one of the hens this morning had been badly pecked and has a fifty cent size spot that is raw meat. I cleaned her, and put medication on her and then put her in a crate in the run with food and water. We believe the culprit is another hen. Not a rooster. Five or six of the chickens have bare or semi-bare spots just in front of their tale feathers. One roosters is pretty sore looking with one bloody spot so we also put medication on him. My question is, we leave the girls in their coop until it is fully daylight just as an extra safeguard, could they be fighting from being in there too long? They seem to get along fine out in the run which is 24'x24'. Somebody is pecking and we really want to figure out why. BTW, as I said, the roosters have both been pecked to different degrees but they get along fine with each other. (Their coop is 5x8)

 

[3KillerBs]

Could you show us photos of your coop and run and give us the dimensions?

Also, what do you feed them?

 

[Momtofive86]

Could you show us photos of your coop and run and give us the dimensions?

Also, what do you feed them?

I did put the dimensions in the above post. We feed them organic pellets that are 16% protein. They also get a chicken scratch in the morning when I first go out. In addition to that they get occasional lettuce, strawberries, kale, cabbage...

 

[3KillerBs]

I did put the dimensions in the above post. We feed them organic pellets that are 16% protein. They also get a chicken scratch in the morning when I first go out. In addition to that they get occasional lettuce, strawberries, kale, cabbage...

Sorry, I missed that.

5x8 is tight for 14 chickens -- 40 square feet which should be about right for 10 birds. Not extremely tight -- the guidelines suggest 56 square feet for 14 birds (some say roosters need more room than hens, others say they don't), but even moderate crowding can contribute to behavior problems.

16% feed with the protein cut by daily scratch and veggies (as healthy as veggies are), could be a contributing factor. Sometimes feather-picking, which easily escalates to cannibalism, starts due to too low a protein percentage in the diet.

Many people have reported that picking issues went away when they switched to a higher-protein feed. Can you go up to an 18 or even 20% feed? With males in the flock you are better off feeding an "all-flock" type feed with oystershell on the side for the layers than a layer feed with the calcium built-in.

 

[Momtofive86]

Sorry, I missed that.

5x8 is tight for 14 chickens -- 40 square feet which should be about right for 10 birds. Not extremely tight -- the guidelines suggest 56 square feet for 14 birds (some say roosters need more room than hens, others say they don't), but even moderate crowding can contribute to behavior problems.

16% feed with the protein cut by daily scratch and veggies (as healthy as veggies are), could be a contributing factor. Sometimes feather-picking, which easily escalates to cannibalism, starts due to too low a protein percentage in the diet.

Many people have reported that picking issues went away when they switched to a higher-protein feed. Can you go up to an 18 or even 20% feed? With males in the flock you are better off feeding an "all-flock" type feed with oystershell on the side for the layers than a layer feed with the calcium built-in.

Thank you for your input. I guess my immediate concern is how do I know who is doing the feather pecking and now what? I have a rooster who is getting pecked pretty bad and a hen isolated. Our local Tractor Supply where we get out feed did not have anything higher than 16%. Are there protein supplements for chickens?

 

[3KillerBs]

Thank you for your input. I guess my immediate concern is how do I know who is doing the feather pecking and now what? I have a rooster who is getting pecked pretty bad and a hen isolated. Our local Tractor Supply where we get out feed did not have anything higher than 16%. Are there protein supplements for chickens?

Any other feed stores around that might carry something other than layer pellets?

20% chick starter would be fine, even if it's medicated. They ought to have that given the season.

@U_Stormcrow knows more about feed composition than I do. He might be able to help.

 

[Brooks_]

Our local Tractor Supply where we get out feed did not have anything higher than 16%

Did not or does not at all? It would odd for them to not have a something over 16%.

 

[Brooks_]

For a short term boost on protein "I" would use scrambled eggs.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Some pecking, I understand, is normal behavior and part of the dynamics of determining {forgive me} packing order. The wound sizes you describe are beyond that, however - certainly worse than anything I've experienced with my own flock of birds.

As @3KillerBs stated above, medically significant pecking and feather pulling behaviors can come of bad integrations, sheer boredom, and confined spaces. It can also be indication of a protein deficient diet. Finally, it can be an indication of illness - but that's generally demonstrated by the whole flock picking on a single weakened bird, not the sort of widespread injury you describe.

WHERE ARE YOU??? I can't help you find a better feed if I don't know where in the nation you are. Temporarily, a can of tuna fish (in water) is high in good proteins, not too high in salt - though I wouldn't wan't to do it for an extended period. Same with a can of chicken. No sliced lunch meats. WAY too high in salt content.

You could scramble a few eggs and feed them back to them. 3 eggs per day for your flock. You can also poach chicken or pork (in my area, pork loin on special is routinely cheaper chan chicken, lb/lb) for them, feed them that.

Nuts/Seeds are high protein (though imbalanced) and also high fat - typically kept to small proportions (less than 10% of the daily diet by weight), but you could try some sunflower seeds (BOSS) - about 1/3# per day (total).

Cut the scratch, the cracked corn, and everything else that's diminishing your bird's protein. Chances are, this time of year, they aren't effectively foraging for bugs, either.

We'll help you locate better feed.

 

[Momtofive86]

Did not or does not at all? It would odd for them to not have a something over 16%.

I was there today. They did not have anything higher that was not medicated. Apparently though medicated would not be a bad thing. I will go back tomorrow to look at other options Thank you!