sarahs chucks Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 hi i have 6 chickens willow, brenda, gabriella, speedy, naughty and daniel (my sons choice)which we got last july, they are great chickens and great layers but over the last few days i have noticed 5 chicks ganging up on 1 chick (daniel) pecking and charging at her, so last night i had a good look at her and noticed she has lost a lot a feathers from around her breast bone. This morning they were more vocal than normal and daniel wouldn`t come out of the nesting box although gave no fight or noise when i got her off, they are in a 20 * 20 ft run with no cockeral and daniel is choosing to stay completely on her own i went in earlier and she wont even come to see my and seems depressed although she is still eating and drinking which is good. am still very new to chickens so and help would be appreicated. thanks sarah. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 Seems strange that all of a sudden poor Daniel is getting picked on.... You say she's eating & drinking which is good , I would maybe give her the once over for lice/mites which can cause an unhappy hen. If you havent wormed your chickens I would also recommend a course of wormer. Are your feed/drinking areas spread out around the run? If not I would space them out throughout so that the bullies cannot pick on her when she eats or drinks. For any wounds purple spray is handy to have around , Ukadex is also an anti peck spray you could try. Love the name Brenda for a chicken by the way.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitchens Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 I had this problem a while ago. One of my large fowl started picking on one of my bantam girls. Have they got enough to do? Can you let them out for a couple of hours a day? You could also try hanging corn on the cob from the ceiling of the run to give them something to do. Cabbages and apples also work quite well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahs chucks Posted June 14, 2009 Author Share Posted June 14, 2009 hi thanks for a quick reply, have been out all night watching them and have noticed that all the chickens will be happily going about there business and daniel will start making a low grunting sound and then start running around with her feathers puffed up, and then the other 5 start pecking and charging her really quite strange have spread out feeder and drinkers so will wait and see what tomorrow brings. Seems strange that all of a sudden poor Daniel is getting picked on.... You say she's eating & drinking which is good , I would maybe give her the once over for lice/mites which can cause an unhappy hen. If you havent wormed your chickens I would also recommend a course of wormer. Are your feed/drinking areas spread out around the run? If not I would space them out throughout so that the bullies cannot pick on her when she eats or drinks. For any wounds purple spray is handy to have around , Ukadex is also an anti peck spray you could try. Love the name Brenda for a chicken by the way.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 She sounds like she's going broody to me... Broody signs - grunting, flapping of wings accompanied with strange screeching sounds, puffiness, going into a puffball shape and "bowing down" when other hens approach her, sitting longer on the nest. It may be if she is going broody the other hens have picked up on it. My broody is getting picked on at the moment as I think all the other hens have got totally fed up with her antics! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahs chucks Posted June 16, 2009 Author Share Posted June 16, 2009 thank you so much for that all those signs you listed she is doing so i will just keep an eye on her how long does it normally last and is it something the others will pick up on and start doing themselves? from a now much more relaxed sarah She sounds like she's going broody to me... Broody signs - grunting, flapping of wings accompanied with strange screeching sounds, puffiness, going into a puffball shape and "bowing down" when other hens approach her, sitting longer on the nest. It may be if she is going broody the other hens have picked up on it. My broody is getting picked on at the moment as I think all the other hens have got totally fed up with her antics! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
