Two days and then this.

[airmechreed]

My younger EE were put by me into the coup two days ago. They were about a third smaller than my 22 week old leghorns and buffs. They were not getting along but no major issues for two days just the normal pecking order getting worked out. Then this morning my wife went to go check on them and one of the four had almost no tail feathers and was bleeding. I have cleaned her up and separated them back up. Put rooster booster on them 3 of the 4 had sore spots. I am glad my wife caught it early this morning. I just don't know why after two days of living and sleeping together they were attacked buy my buff? And she is not even laying yet.

 

[emys]

I believe this may belong in the predator section. Any chance a rat can get into your coop? Or that she injured herself on a nail or something?

This doesn't sound like fighting chickens. They don't fight at night (they don't generally even move in low light).

They will go for blood the next morning if they see it dripping from a wound. Hope you figure it out.

 

[airmechreed]

It happened in the morning after they were all let out. They were all fine and then around 9am my wife heard a bunch of noise and went out to investigate and found them picking on the new EE and it was bleeding,

so they were pecking it. I have an amish style coop and it is tight as a drum with hardware cloth over all openings and glass board on the bottom. The only way a preditor is getting in is if someone lets them in.

Its also raised off the ground and totally enclosed with hardware cloth and welded wire. I used screws to assemble and trimed off all screws that stuck through the wood with my dremel. So I am positive it was the other chickens being big chickens.

 

[emys]

So they were free ranging at the time? If that is the case, I say again; predator.

Or if they were in a run, that is not hardware cloth, I say again; predator.

Were the tail feathers of the now tail-less bird on the ground at the scene? no? probably in the mouth of some predator. Lots of things hunt in daylight this time of year.

 

[Ksane]

Older chickens can be MEAN to younger ones. I'm to the point of separating by age/hatchmates. Thandfully I don't have that many chickens (compared to some).
I fully believe it could be done by the hen. I've seen some pretty mean stuff chickens do to each other and I'm even a new chicken owner.