Chicken Keeping Secrets

“I always enjoy receiving and reading your weekly newsletter, so thank you very much for that.

I actually have two questions. First, what would make a rooster turn on a hen? We have a mixed bagged of 14 chickens of varying ages and 2 roosters. Our older rooster has turned on an older chicken. He will not let her eat with them and does not come to protect her as he does all the other chickens from the younger rooster. She doesn’t seem to have lost her pecking status among the chickens though. Has he “sacrificed” her to the young guy or is there some other reason this would happen?

Secondly, as we keep digging out from the snow (I live in Maryland, lots of snow this year) I keep dreaming of spring. while I enjoy this time of snake hibernation, I am wondering what I can do, if anything, to deter the black snakes from the chicken house this next season. As well, are there any good snake catching gizmos other than me with the pool net and a stick having a heart attack as I run down the road to get him as far away from us as possible before he gets out. I collect the eggs often during the day, but I also caught a lot of snakes.

The kids won’t even go in the house to collect eggs for this reason. I know it is nature and good to keep the mice at a minimum, if they went for the mice and not the eggs. Any suggestions?” ~ Shelley Hutchinson

Shelley,

I so enjoyed your description on your current snake catching system I just had to answer your questions.

So let’s start with the first question.

I’m not personally familiar with a rooster turning on a hen but there are definite relational elements between chickens.

It put me in mind of an older couple I know.

These were the people who were so in love in their younger years, neither could do any wrong in the eyes of their beloved. Somehow, as they’ve gotten older, they’ve gotten cranky! It’s not uncommon for them to bicker constantly. I wonder, if he had a house full of wives, would he “turn” on her as well? (more…)

“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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“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,

“Hi! Love your newsletter! I have four Banty Hens and a Rooster. Mr. Ricardo crows when I cone home in the morning. Lately, Lucy, one of my hens has been crowing after the rooster crows! It was an awkward crow at first, but now she’s a little louder, and she definitely crows.

The locals here in North Carolina tell me that means someone is going to die, and to kill the chicken. She does all the rooster posturing when she crows. I’m not sure if she is laying, I think she is because I will get three eggs one day, then a day or two later one egg, which I think is hers. Is she really crowing? Is that all that unusual? Look forward to your reply!!!” ~ Cat.

Hi Cat, thanks so much for the question.

Isn’t local lore interesting?

I love to sit with older people and listen to them tell stories about the area and this legend or that.

It is true that occasionally a hen will crow. This is most often seen when the rooster has been removed from the flock. Apparently a hen just takes it upon herself to take his place in the area of noise making.

Because Mr. Ricardo is still there though, I wonder if Lucy really is a rooster instead of a hen. You didn’t mention the breed(s) of your flock so I can’t give you any physical indicators to look for other than the typical differences; larger in size, foot spurs, longer waddle and comb.

The other reason I wonder if she’s a rooster is because you’re not getting 4 eggs on any given day.

It could just be that one of your hens is more prolific than the others and it is her additional egg you’re seeing on those off day.

If your flock is young, let’s say under a year, it could very well be that Lucy – the rooster – is just now getting the urge to crow. (more…)

“I had a chicken last weekend who when I went to put them to bed, couldn’t walk/ jump/ fly and was rolling her head, I picked her off of the bottom of the floor level coop (not her coop) and brought her inside, alarm bells obviously raised thinking it was Marek’s or Newcastle disease with the head/neck twisting! I had to wait until Monday before I could see my lovely chicken vet!

I took video of the chickens behaviour on my phone all through the weekend so he’d have an idea what we were dealing with. She gradually improved though day by day. On seeing the vet and him seeing the video, which he said was invaluable, and noting how she was otherwise fine in herself, eating drinking and now walking, he concluded she had hit her head or more likely been bullied by one of the other hens, cornered and repeatedly bashed on the head. Basically she had sustained a head injury which caused swelling / bleeding. He gave her covering antibiotics.

My problem is she’s has just started attempting to jump / fly onto the sofa with varying success, her coop is 4ft high and vet said before she goes back out she needs to be able to confidently make that! Once she’s well, how do I reintroduce her? My flock consists of 6 hens and one cockerel?

• 3 Plymouth rock bantams (she’s one)
• 2 pekins (1 cock 1 hen)
• 2 rescued ex-battery hens (1 of which is a terrible bully)

I don’t want her to be bullied again. Any ideas? Kindest regards” ~ Victoria Nightingale, West Sussex, UK.

Victoria, thanks so much for the question.

Before I get on to the answer, I’d like to point out to our readers the tremendous way you handled this situation.

First of all, you were very observant. You were aware of all of her external symptoms while you started considering possible causes.

You then thought to document her behavior with the video you took on your phone. That information was invaluable for your vet. We have a very dear friend who is a retired veterinarian. He has shared, that one of the hardest parts of his job, was the fact that the animals could not tell him how they felt, what hurt or what had been happening lately with their health.

By having the video available for your veterinarian, you saved both of you a lot of time and probably money due to testing that may have been necessary.

Finally, I appreciate that you brought her inside and were aware of her improvement as well as the fact that you got her to the veterinarian as soon as you were able.

So, “Way to go Victoria!”

Okay, on to your question.

The concern is that she has lost her place in the pecking order. Someone else has shifted into her place in her absence. It is likely that she will be treated as a newbie when she returns and that means there could be a lot of pecking and intimidation going on.

Because you do not know whether it was one or more hens that attacked her, or what prompted the attack, the concern is whether she will be a target when she returns. The difference being, if a particular incidence prompted the attack and will not likely be repeated or whether there is a real “personality conflict” (for lack of a better term) amongst the hens. (more…)