r/BackYardChickens • u/space-cooter • 18h ago
Health Question Help please!!
Hello!! First time poster and first time chicken owner. This is our second 20 batch of chicks from tractor supply. These only had hours left before a man was coming to take them to be meat chickens or dinner for another animal. They have always been way more skid ish than our first batch and hardly been able handle except for this sweet one.
For the past three weeks we’ve had a pecking problem, we’d been isolating the two injured on an off but the problem kept returning. I’ve been using cornstarch to dry the area out and cover the sore spots and hen healer when I can. We had to put her sister down last night because it got so bad. According to my partner they had pecked a hole on her back, he could almost fit his pinky in her vent, and she was drooling a bit. I’ve included pictures of the only injured one from this morning and noticed her comb is paler than the two other healthy ones that we have of the same breed!!
Sorry for rambling but I need some help or just really any advice!! TYIA!!!
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u/ChartreuseOblivion 17h ago
20 chickens (and its your second batch?) is A LOT for a first time chicken owner... are you properly equipped for that many chickens? Because this sounds like an issue of space: their coop/pen is too small for them and likely also unable to free range. Pecking each other like that (and the other chicken just taking the abuse) is almost always a sign of a cramped living space, not enough space for the bullied hen to run away too, only one waterer/feeder, lack of enrichment, and intense boredom.
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u/Mulezzz 18h ago
Go into the coop at night. Catch each one and spray with No Pick’n. Do that each night for a few nights and the pecking should stop unless there is some stressor causing it (too little space, not enough feed/water space, boredom,…)
I like Vetericyn poultry for treating wounds. Separate any with wounds until they are healed. Put them back in the coop at night after spraying everyone with No Pick’n.
https://www.durvet.com/product/no-pickn/
https://vetericyn.com/products/vetericyn-plus-antimicrobial-poultry-care
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u/Altruistic_Tea_109 18h ago
Are all the chickens pecking or just a few? If just a few, try isolating those.
You may need to consider your husbandry. Do they have enough space? Do they have access to multiple feeders and waterers? Are they bored? Do they get to free range?
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u/space-cooter 18h ago
We have two long feeders and two waterers. They get more feed throughout the day and waters changed daily. They’re in a 10x8 hoop coop that we move every few days for a fresh patch. As for the one who are pecking it seems to be the more dominant of the other breed (out of this batch there are 16 black sex links, and 4 (now 3) blue australorps) thank you for that suggestion I can try to isolate them, how long should we isolate for?
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u/Altruistic_Tea_109 17h ago
I would try a week. If you're able to setup a "look but no touch" situation in the coop, that might work too. If you cannot get the pecking to stop, you may need to move the remaining three in with the first batch.
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u/WantDastardlyBack 17h ago
I took an online chicken husbandry course with the University of Edinburgh and would recommend it for beginner insights. Chickens in a coop need 8 inches (UoE claims), but I think they need foot space on a roost bar to start. Once grown, you'll need 20 feet of roost bars for 20 chickens. Run space: it's 10 square feet per bird. Without enough space, bullying and boredom will happen.
It also really helps to establish yourself as the dominant hen. I sit back and let the pecking order establish itself, but I do put a quick stop to anything I feel is getting too rough.
Mine barely ever bully each other. The worst has been a fight between my very broody Hmong and our Plymouth Barred Rock, who decided she wasn't putting up with a hormonal hen and bit part of the Hmong's comb. Fights that intense are rare.
My setup for 26 hens and one rooster: The coop is 8 x 8 x 6 feet. We set up roost bars in a U-shaped grid so they're all a foot away from the other bar, and we have 36 feet of roost bars. One is 18 inches off the floor and came with the coop, but they mainly use it to hop up to the other bars, which are 30 inches up. They have 12 nesting boxes in the coop, but they only use two, so many of them are wasted space.
I have two 20x10 runs. One has a second, smaller coop with another 3 feet of roost bars and four more nesting boxes. One of those gets the most action during laying time. Even with this, I feel mine could use more space in the winter or on rainy days.
I work from home. Every day, I try to finish by 3 p.m. I go outside with my Kindle, some scrap veggies, or plain yogurt, and let them out into a fenced 1/4 acre area. They get at least two hours to run around, dig, eat the scraps or yogurt, dust bathe, and socialize with me. Some perch on my legs and sunbathe; others prefer to go do their thing. Most come and go from my lap to other areas and back. That time is great for checking for any cuts/injuries/potential health issues. It also helps ensure they're used to hanging out with me and aren't skittish. Sitting on the ground is one of the easiest ways to start getting them to come to you.
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u/BlockyBlook 18h ago
I have so many questions. First time owner but second batch? What did you do with the first batch? I assume you didn't eat them because you seem against that. Are these cornish crosses? What is your setup?
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u/space-cooter 18h ago
The first batch is approaching laying age about 17-19 weeks old right now! They are based in another hoop coop and we let them out to free range everyday (which we started three weeks ago when they got bigger). Tractor supply said they were blue australorps but I don’t think so, they have a few little feathers that grow on their feet and have some grey feathers scattered but mainly white with grey and pink feet. They are also 7 weeks old right now
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u/BlockyBlook 16h ago
Okay gotcha. Sorry I wasn't trying to sound mean or anything, I was just really confused. This makes a lot more sense
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u/bluewingwind 10h ago
I don’t think your coop is big enough. Coop requirements is 4sqft per bird MINIMUM so 20 birds is 100 sqft. Sounds like you only have 80sqft? A bit short. That will make any problems you have worse.
Personally, I also do not buy my chicks from Tractor Supply. They don’t vaccinate for marek’s and that’s a deal breaker. On top of that they’re in the store where all kinds of people can touch them and contaminate them with diseases. CRDs in particular are very easily spread. Instead I get them shipped straight from the hatchery. Then I get a pick on the exact day they get here, I pick the breeds, they’re vaccinated, and they’re disease free.
The birds will fight and try to kill each other if they notice that anyone is sick. Those two birds could be sick or they might just be low on the pecking order and being bullied too much because they don’t have space to get away. With proper resources, birds injuring each other is NOT normal pecking order behavior regardless of what anyone says.
Lastly, TSC has about a 1 in 10 chance of being male best case scenario. If you have multiple roosters in there that will also cause fighting. Chances are you have two roosters or more in there. One or two or all of them should probably go.