Torn butt Please help grafic photo

[wyobird]

I have another hen with the same problem now. I separated her too. I think I figured it out when I was moving the roosts in the coop. Its the nest boxes. They are only using one of them and fighting over it. The boxes are side by side and while one is laying, the hen in the next box over is reaching around and is pecking her! I kept wondering why the curtains were torn off, they may have helped, but I'm building new nest boxes.

 

[BlueOrpingtons]

In colder environments try tilting your 2 by 4 roost at about a 45 degree angle, this will forces the birds to sit on there feet when they roost, which keeps there feet warm, and because of reasons I will not go into. It allows your hens to lay eggs longer into the winter.

Unless of course your coop is heated in which case their feet will already be warm.

 

[Mutt Farm]

I have another hen with the same problem now. I separated her too. I think I figured it out when I was moving the roosts in the coop. Its the nest boxes. They are only using one of them and fighting over it. The boxes are side by side and while one is laying, the hen in the next box over is reaching around and is pecking her! I kept wondering why the curtains were torn off, they may have helped, but I'm building new nest boxes.

That might be exactly what it is! Post some pics if you want to...I don't remember but I think you said you had 3 hens? Anyway, you separated the 2 "peckees" the "pecker" might be worse X10 when you reintegrate. Keep us posted!

 

[BlueOrpingtons]

Very true when adding more new chickens, or returning isolated chickens will force the chickens to reinvent their pecking order and could cause injury or even death of 1 or more chickens

 

[Mutt Farm]

In colder environments try tilting your 2 by 4 roost at about a 45 degree angle, this will forces the birds to sit on there feet when they roost, which keeps there feet warm, and because of reasons I will not go into. It allows your hens to lay eggs longer into the winter.

Unless of course your coop is heated in which case their feet will already be warm.

??? Did you post your thoughts on the wrong thread? It happens to all of us! The poster was talking about injuries. Anyway, I had no idea that tilting the 2X4 at a 45 deg angle will forces the birds to sit on there feet when they roost, which keeps there feet warm, and because of reasons I will not go into. It allows your hens to lay eggs longer into the winter.
I'm so curious! How does it force them to sit on their feet and especially how will it allow my hens to lay longer?

 

[wyobird]

I thought about re introducing problems, so I let them free range together every night while I watch them so they don't forget each other. I'm redesigning the nest boxes and I think I will separate the boxes so they can't reach each other.

 

[Mr Beaks]

 
In colder environments try tilting your 2 by 4 roost at about a 45 degree angle, this will forces the birds to sit on there feet when they roost, which keeps there feet warm, and because of reasons I will not go into. It allows your hens to lay eggs longer into the winter.

Unless of course your coop is heated in which case their feet will already be warm.

??? Did you post your thoughts on the wrong thread? It happens to all of us! The poster was talking about injuries. Anyway,  I had no idea that tilting the 2X4 at a 45 deg angle will forces the birds to sit on there feet when they roost, which keeps there feet warm, and because of reasons I will not go into. It allows your hens to lay eggs longer into the winter.
I'm so curious! How does it force them to sit on their feet and especially how will it allow my hens to lay longer?

I think they noticed the roost angles in the pic and was just trying to be helpful and add to the conversation.

Walk gently on this earth......

 

[enola]

It looks like cannibalism to me.