chicken eating other chickens????????????????????????????????????/

[hitnspit]

what the heck. My girlfriend came running in the house telling me they are pecking at another chicken guts. Looks like she layed an egg and it was bloody. For some reason the other birds just ganged up on her and started pecking her to death. Gut where hanging out of her backside and all. Is this normal???????????????????????/jim

 

[chicmom]

I'm sorry to say it is. What has happened is the hen had a prolapse (her insides came out when she layed an egg). Then, chickens are attracted to blood, and it kind of works up a frenzy......They will peck her until she is dead if they can. Blook (the color red) really gets a chicken worked up......

If the hen is still living, you may need to put her out of her misery......

So sorry to tell you this....

 

[Katy]

Yes, very normal. Chickens can be very violent and bloodthirsty birds.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

I have also noticed chickens love anything that is red. Though I've never had to deal with cannabalism, I have noticed my chickens are immediately attracted to red objects- be it shoes, shirts, finger and toe nails.......shoot, mine even prefer to drink from a waterer with a red bottom vs. the purple or green ones I have. Sorry about your hen, prolasp is a nasty thing and unfortunately that is something I've had to deal with.......

Nikki

 

[ChickenWisperer]

Yes. If they see blood, there WILL be a frenzy.

Take the bird out NOW if it is not already dead. They will continue to eat her alive if you do not.

They need more enrichment right now. Hanging treat feeders, things to scratch through and eat, flock blocks, dust to bathe in, places to explore, hay/straw to dig through. Free ranging will help tremendously. Increase their protein, especially if in moult - scrambled eggs are great, as is tuna and high protein feed. In fact, put up multiple feeders/waterers so there is no fighting.

Make sure they aren't over-crowded. This is SO important - it will make for some highly aggressive chickens and easily escalates to cannibalism.

 

[Kfaseler]

I only had 13 chickens in a big coup, I was trying to start a flock with a small amount then slowly build with the chicks they have, and 2 of them killed all the others in less than a week, I only have those 2 left, has anyone had anything like this, they had hay, perches, scratch grains on the ground and food in a feeder, water everything heck they hadn't even gotten old enough to start laying eggs tho it should've happened any day now