Chicken Keeping Secrets

“Hi Wendy, My chickens have been pecking each other along the sides of their bodies for several months. During that time several of the chickens have had wounds that bled. I was advised to used corn starch to dry the wounds. This morning I went into the coop and one of my chickens was dead. She had bloody areas all around her tail. I checked out the rest of the chickens and 5 of the 19 had bloody spots on them. I sat and observed them for a long time. They were all pecking at each other. I put cornstarch on the wounds.

My neighbor said to provide a lot of scratch grains and to throw several flakes of hay in the chicken yard. He said there wasn’t enough to keep them busy. The ground is bare but I am afraid to let them out of the chicken yard to eat grass because of all of the chicken hawks we have here.  I have very limited space so it would be difficult for me to have separate runs and pens, etc. I would appreciate any suggestions you could give me. Is this aggression due to boredom? Thank you so much for your help,” ~ Kathy

Hi Kathy,

I’m glad you wrote.

Let’s take this one thing at a time.

Pecking at each other is normal chicken behavior. It’s probably the most used form of communication amongst a flock.

Sometimes when a chicken is molting, it will have bald spots. Normal pecking will often result in a wound. The chickens doing the pecking don’t necessarily aim for the bald spot, it just happens.

When chickens draw blood, they go a little berserk. For some reason blood sends everyone into a frenzy and they attack the wounded animal. The more blood there is, the more they attack. There is a sort of cumulative effect.

Most often, this will end in mortality for the wounded animal as in your case, at least that’s what it sounds like to me.

We have lost a number of chickens this way.

To combat against this I take a couple of actions.

Because chickens body temperatures are higher than ours, their blood clots more easily, they combat infection better and they tend to heal faster than we do. If the wound is deep, a coagulant like corn starch is beneficial as it causes the blood to clot. Good job Kathy.

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“Hi, thanks for a great site! I am interested to know the reason for a hole in each egg that our hen produces daily. I am not sure whether the hen / cock is responsible for this. The egg does not run out as such but the shell is always pierced (the hole being the size of a raisin). Is this a common occurrence or what is the reason behind this? Many thanks” ~ Mary

Hi Mary,

Thanks for the question.

It sounds to me like one of your chickens is pecking at the egg.

The contents is not running out because the chicken is not pecking deep enough to break the membrane that seals the contents of the egg.

Now is the time to take steps to stop this behavior before they accidentally end up with a beak full of egg white and are delighted by this wonderful, new, squishy food.

It’s can be very hard to break the egg eating habit.

In your case, the first thing I would do is make sure you collect often; the less time an egg sits in the nest box, the less likely it will be pecked at. (more…)

“My mom and I are just starting to raise chickens. I’m 15 years old and I’ve always been interested in animals so I’m happy to try my hand with chickens. I’ve heard the phrase “chicken hospital” before and I’m not sure what it means. The man I was talking to said that I would need one to separate my chickens. What is it and where do I get one?” ~ Carlton Michaels, California

Hi Carlton,

I’m happy to hear that you and your mom are starting this new adventure.

I’m assuming that the gentlemen you were talking to was referring to a place you can keep an injured or ill chicken separated from the rest of your flock. In back issues I’ve referred to this space as a chicken infirmary.

Here’s the point, if you have a chicken that seems to be ill but you don’t know what is wrong and you’re not sure if it has something contagious to the rest of the flock, you’ll want to separate that chicken from the others as soon as possible.

The time to prepare your chicken infirmary is before you need it. (more…)

“I was curious how much room my hens need to roam and still be happy. I was letting them roam the entire yard but spring is near and I would like to give the young blooms and flowers a fighting chance to grow. Thanks for your time!” ~ Diana

Hi Diana,

Thanks for the question.

If your ladies are used to having freedom, I’d give them a little more room than the standard recommendation of 8-12 square feet per bird.

You might want to make the run mobile or provide multiple areas that you can rotate the flock between. This will keep the area ground underneath the chickens from being pecked clean.

There’s an old saying, if you keep your chickens in a permanent run, you’ll either start them on dirt or they’ll end up on dirt.

So if you have grass that you want to survive, plan on moving them around every few days.

This will also keep them from depleting the soil of all the bugs and worms in one area and they’ll have a fresh supply every few days.

Thanks again Diana,

“An article you had earlier, about not damaging a film on the egg if you want to hatch them, has caused another concern in my mind. I clean all my eggs under cool water and soap before storing them. Is this the proper way to do it, or am I causing the storage life span of the stored egg to be shortened? Thanks” ~ Charlie

Charlie,

You have the same thing on your mind that so many people seem to lately; what is the best way to wash an egg?

I’ve been trying to get an answer our of a large egg producing company but can’t seem to get through to someone who will tell me how they clean their eggs.

So I’ll tell you how we wash our eggs and the reasoning behind why we do it this way. If there is anyone out there who disagrees with me, and feels there is folly in our practice, please write back with the reasons why and I will publish as an addendum next week.

Okay, a quick review of the “bloom” for those who are new to keeping chickens.

Just before an egg is laid, a protective membrane is applied to the outside of the shell. This membrane is called the bloom. The bloom is a thin protein coating that protects the egg from the entrance of harmful bacteria through it’s porous shell.

Once the bloom encounters water, it is quickly washed away and therefore cannot protect the contents of the egg any longer.

So, onto the actual washing of eggs and whether it’s even necessary to do so before storing them in the refrigerator.

If an egg is clean, meaning not soiled with manure or mud, I gently brush off any dust or straw and put it in the refrigerator. I use the word gently because I want to keep the bloom intact and a lot of handling of the egg can wear away the bloom. (more…)