Sudden Agression and Pecking

[eekay]

Hello all,

4 black Sexlinks, approx 1 year old.

Most guides have suggested if I don't fix this problem now then I will likely soon have dead birds.

About 4 days ago I Noticed a bald spot on top of one of my girls heads, around her comb, kept eye on it, thought maybe molting. No blood or broken skin.

Three days later I Spent an entire day outside in the yard prepping my garden, the girls are confined to a 60sqft run as per bylaw. No issues all day long. No fighting.

Late in the evening they're all stuffing their faces as per their norm, when suddenly a massive brawl breaks out. Our dominant hen is chasing and pecking at our most timid one, ripping her head feathers out. The other two join in, they then all begin turning on eachother. I have to stand in the run for a solid hour just til things settle. The dominant hen was militantly stalking the littlest one, the littlest one was pecking at our biggest one.

After an hour they settle, they all behave, preening and eating. The only incident after that is the littlest one pecks at the largest and most timid one. They all go to bed, no issue.

I'm petrified I'm going to come home to one or more severely injured or dead girls if I'm not there to break it up.

Food and water are normal. Weather has been significantly warmer. There have been no major changes to environment aside from The day after discovering the bald spot I did remove the plastic sheeting that was surrounding the run.

The fight did appear to break out when they were all eating (if one eats then they all want some) , the feeder in question is a bucket style with two ports. One port faces a corner and any bird eating from it has nowhere to go if a more dominant bird steps in. I relocated the feeder a short distance away.to avoid anyone getting cornered.

im going to spend today implementing as many boredom Buster's as I can. There are no visible signs of illness.

ANy thoughts? Input? Advice?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Photos of your set up, preferably current, with the feeder in current location? It's unfortunate you can't expand, as that would help with giving you room to add clutter/hiding spots, but let's see what we have to work with.

At the very least, for now, I'd see about adding a second feeder. Doesn't need to be fancy, even just a small bowl will do.

 

[Quaicken108]

Roosters don’t automatically solve problems. Pecking order is a serious thing to be mindful of.
Are you getting any eggs? If it’s really stressing the timid one than she shouldn’t be laying.
I know that they’re all the same breed and age but did you get them all together? Generally, when you get more hens and you’re intergrading them into your current flock, everyone is going to have to get used to things and the top one will attack the others.
If you think it’s serious and it seems that it’s 3 on 1 than might try removing the top girl first and see if the other 2 will attack or if she‘s really stressed and getting hurt, remove her so she can heal for the time.
You might want to let others eat first and kick the top girl out, just so you know that the timid one is still eating.
Sometimes depending on the chicken, they just don’t like them and they need a mini flock, a group, like my timing hen (an SLW) lost her 3 sisters and wasn’t fully intergraded into my flock. She was constantly attacked and bullied but after I let her heal and become strong again, I tried again and spent many hours creating a safe space for her. It didn’t fully work still because she was alone but eventually she went broody and got her daughters which made it 3 against the rest of my flock. (When they gre up).
Update us and I hope everything will go well!!!

 

[eekay]

Yesterday was encouraging. Despite one minor scuffle early in the day the birds actually behaved for the remainder.

A friend brought by a modular fence panel and we made a small run extension. It wasn't much but the birds were pumped. The 2nd feeder also helped a lot with issues during feeding time.

I'm not out of the wood but its encouraging to see that boredom may have been the cause and I just need to work harder on keeping them entertained and distracted.

I'll have many more uneasy days and restless nights worrying about wether or not I'll be there to rescue my hen if one of them were to draw blood.

 

[Quaicken108]

Still getting 4 eggs a day. The one being picked on still gets her fill of food and drinks openly. The bullying just flares up randomly, they were perched next to one another and dust bathing near eachother all day prior to the scuff up.

If she’s still laying than I’d say she’s not under too much stress. It doesn’t sound too serious and as long as she’s not injured and/stressed I wouldn’t worry too greatly. They might just be putting her in line sometimes and hopefully she’s not getting hurt.

 

[eekay]

I made some straw piles with some treats, moved their feeder and added another. When I'm done my errands I'm going to add some more perches, graduated going higher up. I'm leaning toward boredom being the main factor. Here's hoping. So far so good today, the one being picked on is still in good spirits, and based on the way they ate their scrambled eggs this morning the one being picked on is definitely #2 in the ladder. I'm thinking it's also possibly a power struggle.

Going to try increasing their protein intake a little bit as well.

 

[eekay]

You have a decent amount of stuff in there, considering the space you have to work with. Is there a reason there's 2 waterers? Might want to get rid of one for sake of space.

I'd consider either moving the feeder a little more towards the middle, so the birds can go all the way around it, so it prevents birds from getting trapped in a corner and also functions as a little extra clutter. Put feeder #2 in the opposite "corner" of the run.

I've actually removed one waterer. It still dips below freezing at night here so the hanging heated waterer stays. I've added a 2nd feeder and they are at opposite ends. They do spend all day scratching and pecking. I've ordered the no-shock hen pen from Premier1Supply so I can make an impromptu run extension, it just has to have a canopy of some kind over it.

I've spent the entire day watching them and there was only one scuffle, and that was when everyone was jockeying for food. This was before the 2nd feeder.

As for being backed into a corner, that is exactly what caused the fight last night. The dominant hen wanted her food and the victim had nowhere to go. I'm hoping this is the solution.

 

[eekay]

Just an update. Re arranging the run and giving them a bit of time in the run extension has worked really well. It's been three days since there's been any pecking. There's still some food related agression but putting the feeders in more strategic areas so they don't get bottlenecked has helped. Switched then a mix of 16% and 19% protein feed for a little boost and cracked opened a fresh bottle of ACV. So far there there's some harmony. The victim (Ladysmith) seems to have gotten the hint and gives Pumpkin (the boss) a wide berth.

We will continue to watch them closely for any relapse but I feel like we're on a good trajectory.

 

[eekay]

2 month update. I expanded the run even further with the step in hen pen, and all was well, for a time. The battery died on my ChickenGuard and the girls got locked inside , and because I work shift work they weren't let out until around noon. Let's just say there was a war. All were missing feathers, and boss hen was injured.

Spent a week nursing her back to health, she seemed to have some head/neck injuries , possibly sprains or bruising. She healed up fine and was back to herself...sort of.

Only now shes worse. She has it out for one hen in particular, the only one she bullies, and she will not relent. Her behavior has changed to distancing herself from the others but remaining very territorial regarding food. I'm beginning to suspect she may have recieved some kind of concussion or brain damage from the brawl. As of now, nothing works. Distractions, the extension, treats, protein, hanging cabbages, clutter, perches. She is just all out mean.

So, reluctantly, we are going to re home her to a free range farm where she will have no confines, and there's a chance she may find herself better behaved with a rooster in her company and perhaps some much larger alpha hens to put her in her place.

I really hope I'm making the right decision.

 

[eekay]

Photos of your set up, preferably current, with the feeder in current location? It's unfortunate you can't expand, as that would help with giving you room to add clutter/hiding spots, but let's see what we have to work with.

Current setup with feeder to the right of the human access door.