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- #21
FernbergFarms
Songster
And should I keep her separated till her feathers grow back or what?
chickens pecked out other's neck feathers....
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- #22
FernbergFarms
Songster
Oh and I will send that other stuff a little later
CindyinSD
All will be well, and that will be well is well.
I don’t think you need to keep her separate until her feathers grow back. What I’ve done on a few occasions is to spray Blukote on the naked bits. (Be sure to hold a bit of cloth or tissue over her eyes and, unless you like your fingers purple, wear gloves on both hands. 
)
If the bird has dark skin, this might not be a problem but if the skin looks raw and sore or even just pink, it’s most likely going to be pecked. This is especially true if the bird is of low rank and not vigorous in defending herself.
I have a poor girl in isolation atm too, and the tissue around her eyes is swollen so that she can’t open them all the way. I’m not going to put her back in with the rest of the flock until I feel sure she can at least run for shelter. As for giving her a buddy... ime, the buddy will either peck her, or she will peck her buddy. I’m not sure it really does much beyond just making the hospital crate more crowded. If your girl seems lonely and downcast, you can put her in the crate, in the coop. It makes things less convenient for you, but it may help your girl’s recovery and reintroduction.
A couple other strategies you might try are to put her back out on a warmish night (if you get one). Wait for twilight or dark, then (with a red headlamp if you need light) place her on a roost in the midst of them. Alternatively you could try reintroducing her on a day when you will allow them to free range. Either way, you’ll want to watch and see how things are going. If they turn on her and she is still weak, they can kill her very quickly.
) If the bird has dark skin, this might not be a problem but if the skin looks raw and sore or even just pink, it’s most likely going to be pecked. This is especially true if the bird is of low rank and not vigorous in defending herself.
I have a poor girl in isolation atm too, and the tissue around her eyes is swollen so that she can’t open them all the way. I’m not going to put her back in with the rest of the flock until I feel sure she can at least run for shelter. As for giving her a buddy... ime, the buddy will either peck her, or she will peck her buddy. I’m not sure it really does much beyond just making the hospital crate more crowded. If your girl seems lonely and downcast, you can put her in the crate, in the coop. It makes things less convenient for you, but it may help your girl’s recovery and reintroduction.
A couple other strategies you might try are to put her back out on a warmish night (if you get one). Wait for twilight or dark, then (with a red headlamp if you need light) place her on a roost in the midst of them. Alternatively you could try reintroducing her on a day when you will allow them to free range. Either way, you’ll want to watch and see how things are going. If they turn on her and she is still weak, they can kill her very quickly.
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- #24
FernbergFarms
Songster
Okay. Her skin is red/pink. So do you think I could free range them with the snow? we have about 7-10inches.. Cuz I would like to get her back with every body. She doesn't defend herself very much, when they pack her she just gets out of the way. And none of my chickens go on their perch, is there anything I could do to get them on their perch? They don't go in the back either... Do I need more light? A heat lamp?
CindyinSD
All will be well, and that will be well is well.
Would you describe their perches? If they’re not roosting, I would go in there at night for as long as it takes and put them on the roosts. They need to roost. Otherwise they’ll wear off their breast and tummy feathers. Plus it’s somewhat safer up there.
Northern roosts are better if the birds can sit on their feet and keep their toes warm. I use 2x4s, broad side up, but there’s one brace at the top that had to be narrow-side up. Guess which they’d rather roost on? Height/status trumps toasty toes, apparently.
I’m also mystified as to why your girls don’t use the back part of the coop. It is a kind of long, narrow shape, so maybe that’s the cause. Does the light reach all the way back? I wonder whether you could have rodents back there that they’re afraid of? (Just throwing things out at random here.) Some flocks are more timid than others and young birds usually seem more easily spooked than older ones.
If there’s no window back there, I might consider (if it were my coop) taking a reciprocating saw and cutting out a window from the back wall. I’m thinking I’d staple hardware cloth on from the inside (preferably with a pneumatic stapler for predator exclusion) and hinge the cut-out piece to open to the outside so they can’t roost on it. I might hinge it on a side or on the bottom... not sure. I would close it at night unless it was hot. I’m just thinking natural light might draw them into that back space.
Something else that might lure them back there would be to add a bag of pine shavings or whatever you use for bedding. Just lug it to the back, cut it open and take the packaging out. Don’t spread it around, but scatter treats on it, calling “Here chickchickchick,” or whatever it is that you say to call them for food/treats. Mine love scratching out their own bedding. My turkeys will just leave the pile sitting there (slackers) but the chickens can’t leave it alone.
Northern roosts are better if the birds can sit on their feet and keep their toes warm. I use 2x4s, broad side up, but there’s one brace at the top that had to be narrow-side up. Guess which they’d rather roost on? Height/status trumps toasty toes, apparently.
I’m also mystified as to why your girls don’t use the back part of the coop. It is a kind of long, narrow shape, so maybe that’s the cause. Does the light reach all the way back? I wonder whether you could have rodents back there that they’re afraid of? (Just throwing things out at random here.) Some flocks are more timid than others and young birds usually seem more easily spooked than older ones.
If there’s no window back there, I might consider (if it were my coop) taking a reciprocating saw and cutting out a window from the back wall. I’m thinking I’d staple hardware cloth on from the inside (preferably with a pneumatic stapler for predator exclusion) and hinge the cut-out piece to open to the outside so they can’t roost on it. I might hinge it on a side or on the bottom... not sure. I would close it at night unless it was hot. I’m just thinking natural light might draw them into that back space.
Something else that might lure them back there would be to add a bag of pine shavings or whatever you use for bedding. Just lug it to the back, cut it open and take the packaging out. Don’t spread it around, but scatter treats on it, calling “Here chickchickchick,” or whatever it is that you say to call them for food/treats. Mine love scratching out their own bedding. My turkeys will just leave the pile sitting there (slackers) but the chickens can’t leave it alone.
trumpeting_angel
Free Ranging
Many of us shovel some paths in the snow. That’s not enough for some chickens, but sprinkling the path with hay, straw, or peat moss and offering treats away from the coop door convinced them. I’m trying to teach them now so they can have some outdoor time when it’s colder and the snow is deeper.
If you can roof part of the run and clear that part of snow - less shoveling!
If you can roof part of the run and clear that part of snow - less shoveling!
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- #27
FernbergFarms
Songster
Their perch is a long piece of wood screwed to the side wall. Ya that might be smart to put a window in back there's not a ton of light. And they LOVE to dig so they probably love that pine shavings idea!! I'm gonna try to free range them tomorrow and let the other two back with them then.
CindyinSD
All will be well, and that will be well is well.
It would be good to get a pic of the perch. Most chickens instinctively get as high as they can to sleep. I don’t understand why they aren’t using it.
from what you say i think your coop is to small and your chickens are overcrowded. feather picking is a symptom of overcrowding. not getting outside magnifies this problem.'
half or some of the coop they have is unacessable to them as it is to dark. adding a light or window will help.
also the perching. if your perch is to close to the wall they will not use it. if it is to high for them to leap or fly up to they can not use it. if it is to dark in there, they can not see it good enough to use it.
without pictures of the inside of your coop its hard to say exactly, but this is what it sounds like to me.
I'll try to summarize what I think I know. You have 8 pullets, all of them 8 months old. No males. You've seen three of them getting pecked. One of those three has a bare bleeding spot on the back of her neck. You've seen the one bleeding being ganged up on by some of the other hens.
Now some guesses. They were raised together and were fine until recently. I think N. Mn means you are in Northern Montana. After you had a heavy snow that confined them to the coop you saw this behavior, not before. I never saw where you mentioned the physical size of the coop but from the photo I'll guess at least 4' x 8' but possibly bigger. It is a walk-in coop.
Now I'll start rambling. Bleeding is not a part of molting. That photo does not look like molting to me, molting would be more general all around the neck. Those feathers were physically removed. I don't think it is feather pecking to eat the feathers. There are always exceptions to anything but I'd expect feather pecking where they are eating feathers to more likely be in the vent area or the front of the neck. I could easily be wrong about that. It's possible some predator went for the back of her head and wounded her plus got a bunch of feathers. I'd consider that possible but unlikely. Chickens will sometimes then attack a wounded or weakened chicken. That does not explain the others pecking those other two.
To me that looks like bullying. The pullet was attacked and could not run away so she lay down and tried to protect her head. The attacker tried to peck her head, that's what they normally do, but couldn't quite get higher up. For some reason she stopped before she actually killed her. All this brought on by the snow confining them to the coop.
So what can you do? I'd isolate that one hen at least until her wound had scabbed over and stopped bleeding. That might be enough to stop the others picking on it but it would till be something to watch. Blue Kote might help, it would be worth a try.
Your chicken density is too high for snowy weather if the coop is all they have. Chickens are funny around snow. They don't like change. If mine wake up to a white world they don't want to have anything to do with it. It's not the snow or the cold, it's the change. Typically mine stay in the coop a couple of days before one gets brave enough to risk going outside. But after two or three days at least some will go out in the snow. Also mine do not like a cold wind. If it is calm mine go out in weather near zero Fahrenheit but if a cold wind is blowing they stay in a protected area. The day I took this photo the snow (1" total) fell after they were already out and it was a calm day. The change was gradual enough that they never bothered to go in.
You may have snow on the ground for the rest of the winter so they might get used to it, but you will have days with a strong cold wind where they will not want to go outside without wind protection. So one possible solution could be to provide more room for them. I don't know enough about the size or conditions inside your coop for specific suggestions. They need enough light to see but in my opinion darker is more soothing than a bright area. If you have room something to break line of sight could help but you still need to be able to work in there.
That coop looks like it is raised enough the chickens could get under it if they could get to it. There are bare spots underneath the coop in that photo. If you can find a way to give them access to that area it might be enough. Just keeping that ramp clear may not be enough. You may need to shovel an area around it or maybe put bedding or a pallet down to get them out of the snow. Building a shelter of some type to keep an area around the pop door clear of snow could be a big help. Any of this will be a change and they will have to learn to use it but they probably would reasonably quickly.
Another way to reduce chicken density is to have fewer chickens in there. How many fewer, I don't know what it would take. You might house some in a different place. Maybe sell or give some away. You can eat some. Which ones? Sometimes if you can identify a ringleader removing her can stop the aggression. Each hen has her own personality and some can be brutes. Or you can remove the weaker ones, the ones that are the targets. I try to solve for the benefit of the flock instead of for the benefit of a specific chicken. I know that bothers some people but it works for me.
Now some guesses. They were raised together and were fine until recently. I think N. Mn means you are in Northern Montana. After you had a heavy snow that confined them to the coop you saw this behavior, not before. I never saw where you mentioned the physical size of the coop but from the photo I'll guess at least 4' x 8' but possibly bigger. It is a walk-in coop.
Now I'll start rambling. Bleeding is not a part of molting. That photo does not look like molting to me, molting would be more general all around the neck. Those feathers were physically removed. I don't think it is feather pecking to eat the feathers. There are always exceptions to anything but I'd expect feather pecking where they are eating feathers to more likely be in the vent area or the front of the neck. I could easily be wrong about that. It's possible some predator went for the back of her head and wounded her plus got a bunch of feathers. I'd consider that possible but unlikely. Chickens will sometimes then attack a wounded or weakened chicken. That does not explain the others pecking those other two.
To me that looks like bullying. The pullet was attacked and could not run away so she lay down and tried to protect her head. The attacker tried to peck her head, that's what they normally do, but couldn't quite get higher up. For some reason she stopped before she actually killed her. All this brought on by the snow confining them to the coop.
So what can you do? I'd isolate that one hen at least until her wound had scabbed over and stopped bleeding. That might be enough to stop the others picking on it but it would till be something to watch. Blue Kote might help, it would be worth a try.
Your chicken density is too high for snowy weather if the coop is all they have. Chickens are funny around snow. They don't like change. If mine wake up to a white world they don't want to have anything to do with it. It's not the snow or the cold, it's the change. Typically mine stay in the coop a couple of days before one gets brave enough to risk going outside. But after two or three days at least some will go out in the snow. Also mine do not like a cold wind. If it is calm mine go out in weather near zero Fahrenheit but if a cold wind is blowing they stay in a protected area. The day I took this photo the snow (1" total) fell after they were already out and it was a calm day. The change was gradual enough that they never bothered to go in.
You may have snow on the ground for the rest of the winter so they might get used to it, but you will have days with a strong cold wind where they will not want to go outside without wind protection. So one possible solution could be to provide more room for them. I don't know enough about the size or conditions inside your coop for specific suggestions. They need enough light to see but in my opinion darker is more soothing than a bright area. If you have room something to break line of sight could help but you still need to be able to work in there.
That coop looks like it is raised enough the chickens could get under it if they could get to it. There are bare spots underneath the coop in that photo. If you can find a way to give them access to that area it might be enough. Just keeping that ramp clear may not be enough. You may need to shovel an area around it or maybe put bedding or a pallet down to get them out of the snow. Building a shelter of some type to keep an area around the pop door clear of snow could be a big help. Any of this will be a change and they will have to learn to use it but they probably would reasonably quickly.
Another way to reduce chicken density is to have fewer chickens in there. How many fewer, I don't know what it would take. You might house some in a different place. Maybe sell or give some away. You can eat some. Which ones? Sometimes if you can identify a ringleader removing her can stop the aggression. Each hen has her own personality and some can be brutes. Or you can remove the weaker ones, the ones that are the targets. I try to solve for the benefit of the flock instead of for the benefit of a specific chicken. I know that bothers some people but it works for me.
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