Will chickens kill each other?

[dallandrafae]

i have some bullying that is going on between my silkie cross who is 8wks and four isa browns who are 18wks. well this morning the four brown girls cornered my silkie and if i hadnt got in and saved her i am quite sure they would haqve killed her. HELP! What do i do?

 

[aoxa]

Quote:
Take the silkie out until it gets older? My older hens leave both my silkies alone. Not sure they know they are even chickens

 

[nancygavinandco]

my chickens have been being killed and nothing can get in or out of the run so i am supecting it is my two fighting hens could this be.

 

[lazy gardener]

Nancy, what does the damage look like? It's possible you have a weasel problem. They can get through a very small opening. You might look at the predator thread to see if this might be a possibility. Also, if you are using chicken wire, raccoons can reach through and kill a chicken through the wire. Rats are an other possibility if you are using chicken wire.

 

[nancygavinandco]

well okay the first was my rooster and he had no visable marks on him he just laid dead ,the next it had like holes in its chest and brusing on thighs, thr next was a silkie banny and only thing left was puffs of bloody feathers and the other two that came up missing well there was no sign that i even had them, and just reciently i had one that the head was gone and the body was mutalated. hopefully this will be all that i loose. trying to keep them safe , but can't figure it out. help please.

 

[cowhlb]

How common/rare is it for chickens to kill each other? WHilst establishing pecking order, etc. Is it something to be concerned with, or is it fairly rare with them.
Establishing the pecking order is a necessity , but, when is it too aggressive when one should be concerned>? Besides the obvious sight of blood.

Take out the hen on top of pecking order. Put her in a separate pen.

 

[nancygavinandco]

this answer honestly did not help cause theres no answer well i lost so far 9 chicks and they made it through two nites with no injuries or fatalitys so that was good but still concerned the thing is theres no blood. just body parts and feathers and some there was not even a trace, still confused.

 

[lazy gardener]

Nancy, can you describe your run set up? What kind of wire? How tall is the fence? How big is it? is it covered over the top? Is the wire buried under the ground? is the ground of the run covered with wire? It sounds like you have multiple predator issues. Again, i'd suggest that you go to the predator threads. There are some sites there that describe how different predators complete their attacks and what the ensuing damage looks like. Until you know what your predator is, you won't be able to prevent reoccurrence. Weasels often decapitate, raptors often eat the breast, possums often eat through the vent, coons often eat the crop, foxes often leave no trace.. and then there's rats, coyotes, bears, snakes. And the list goes on. Everybody likes chicken.

 

[cowhlb]

this answer honestly did not help cause theres no answer well i lost so far 9 chicks and they made it through two nites with no injuries or fatalitys so that was good but still concerned the thing is theres no blood. just body parts and feathers and some there was not even a trace, still confused.

Your hens probably sat on the chicks. That has happened to me. I hen took three pullets life.