why do hens peck each other? And soft shelled eggs?

[Javabarnes]

So we have 7 pullets. They are 2 and 3 mths old. Yesterday a local family was selling all of their laying hens for $5 a piece so we bought 4. 3 of the 4 are pecked bald on their backs. 1 is not pecked at all (or barely) 1 is pecked with just a small bald spot, 1 is pecked with a pretty big bald spot and 1 her whole back is bald as well as most of both wings! They were free ranged and with quite a few other animals as well as a rooster and many more hens.

Why do they do that so bad? Is there a way to make them stop? Will it heal? Will the big ones do it to our babies since we mixed them?

Also, we got our first egg this morning but it had a hole in the shell when we got it and cracked as soon as we picked it up. I have heard that hens peck at their eggs to make sure they are strong or something like that?? So this one wasn't (not sure who layed it). What do we need to do? Calcium?

Thanks in advance...this is our first try at chickens.

 

[kellysmall87]

Hi! I would say that the chickens feather loss is due to three main causes.

1. Mites. Checks for mites around the vent and under the wings. If they have mites then buy some powder and treat the whole flock and coop and ground etc.
2. Over breeding. Were their too many roosters to hen ratio? One rooster needs about five hens I think it is, too many roosters mean the Hen is over mated and takes a battering. Also, roosters have their favourites so the worst featherless hen could've been his favourite one to breed with. You can buy 'saddles' from ebay to protect the feathers during mating.
3. Boredom and over crowding causes chickens to peck at each others feathers.

Those are the three main things I can think of. Maybe someone will shed more light.

P.s you may need to protect these chickens from the sun as they will burn.

Soft shelled eggs = more calcium needed. They are trying to eat their shells in order to obtain calcium. Boiled and ground up egg shell is a good source, and grit with added calcium available from ebay.

 

[HEChicken]

It sounds like the rooster is the culprit if the baldness is limited to their backs. If you don't have a rooster eventually the feathers will grow back. You might also do a visual inspection of them for lice or mites to make sure that is not the reason for the baldness but based on your description it sounds more like a rooster to me.

The hole in the egg could be a fluke - perhaps it just landed wrong and cracked on landing - that happens sometimes. I've never seen them peck at an egg after laying it to check shell strength. However if you DO find that the shells are too soft then yes, lack of calcium is probably the reason. If you are feeding layer formula it has added calcium but I always offer a little supplemental shell on the side so if they feel they need extra they can help themselves.

 

[Javabarnes]

Thanks! So we spent a lot of time watching them and one of the rhode island reds (the one with no feather issues) is plain out mean to the others! She gets on them for everything, pecking...and they are scared of her. So a mean hen wouldn't be the cause for bald backs? the baldness is just in front of the tale feathers. I will check them for lice/mites tomorrow. And here's to hoping the egg was a fluke .

They have a nice new coop with all shade outside most of the day (still need to expand the yard out more)

 

[Javabarnes]

Oh and There was 1 rooster...a leghorn or something like that to about 15 hens. They were totally free ranged on a few UNFENCED acres so they could go where ever they pleased....so no over crowding.

I really hope it was just the rooster. We don't have any roosters.