Fowl Females!! Female Fowl!! Aaarrgghh!!

Ok...I am desperately seeking the advice of any and all of you expert or experienced chicken owners. I am still quite new to raising chickens (my first batch from Hidden was in May this year) and I promise you I am open to any advice, suggestions, etc. If I am doing something wrong please do NOT hesitate to point it out to me as I am totally open to constructive criticism....you won't hurt my feelings I promise. Now the dilemma:

I have around 75 chickens currently and they occupy two different coops with attached run (16 by 50 foot run). In one coop I have all hens (35) and the other coop is all my boys (40), most of whom will be in the freezer this time next week. Both coops are absolutely identical in size, shape, structure, heating, lighting, etc. Each coop is 12 by 16 feet with 9 foot ceilings. That's 192 square feet per building. So if I allow around 4 square feet per bird I have ample space in each coop for my numbers. Both coops have plenty of roosts, both have the same feeders and waterers, both have the same windows. The only difference is the nesting boxes in the hen house. Aside from accommodations both sets of birds are treated equally. Feed and fresh water is given daily (water twice a day), grit is offered free choice, pop doors are opened the same time every morning and closed each evening. Oyster shell is available to the girls. No pest strips hang in both coops. Pine shavings are used in both as bedding.

Now...for some reason completely and utterly unknown to me, my girls are absolute heathens to each other! In the last 2 months I have lost 6 girls and NO boys. I had assumed I would have some serious fighting among the boys, however every one of my boys looks just gorgeous...full glossy feathers, bright red combs, clean legs with no sign of mites or lice, absolutely no bare patches at all. Just a group of very handsome young birds..if birds could be called handsome..lol. My girls however, have bare patches, missing feathers, bloody vents from being pecked without mercy!! I have tried hanging seed blocks, cabbage heads etc to occupy them in winter, I have been spraying them with blue kote whenever I see pink skin, I have hung extra roosts, extra feeders and waterers, isolated a few when I suspected maybe they were starting it...you name it. Nothing I do is stopping them from being blood thirsty little savages and pecking each other literally to death!! I have a beautiful black cochin in my kitchen right now whose vent was pecked completely raw and bloody. I just for the life of me can not figure out why my hens are so darned NASTY to each other and yet my boys are all getting along splendidly!

Please PLEASE, if anyone has any insight as to what the problem might be I would so very much love to hear it. I am to the point that I don't even like going down to the hen house anymore because I am afraid of what I might find. I am finding that I have to blue kote the darned things at least 2 to 3 times a week! I am so frustrated and completely out of ideas. Should I have a rooster or two with the girls to keep order?? I just don't know. In the short time I have had my birds I have just fallen in love with them...I love to watch them scratch around; I love the way they peck at the snow on my boots; I love that I can call them for scratch and they all come racing out of the coop at my call; I love the feel of a warm egg in my hand and the sound of a sweet girl singing her egg-laying song so loud and proud. I love it all. BUT!....I DON'T love finding bloody and sometimes dead birds because they've killed each other.

Please help!

If you have 35 hens, I would put two roosters in there. They will calm the fighting and if one has a favourite, the other might stick up for the others. Roos have their place in a coop. My coops always have them. I try to stick to the one Roo to ten hens rule. Unless they are Ameracaunas, who seem better at 1:20!

First look into your feed, not enough protein can be a cause of picking. I have some young pullets I am raising right now over winter for RTL in the spring and I started having the same issues. Blamed the turkeys that were in there so removed them, but it is still happening. I am finding it is certain breeds (the buff orpingtons in general). What I changed 2 weeks ago is I started mixing my broiler finisher in with their grower grain, and low and behold the picking stopped!!! I had the same issue last year with some young pullets that just started laying, increased their protein and the picking stopped.

I think a rooster in the hen house is always good, helps to keep the peace, but make sure it is the right rooster. I put a cochin rooster in and he was not aggressive enough, the hens still picked each other somewhat, so removed him and put my daughter's large Buff Orpington rooster in there, and the hen house is at peace. I even added in 6 younger black australorp pullets from a growing pen and not once were they picked on or feathers pulled, so Mr. Buff definately is helping keep the peace.

So definately try upping your protein levels and see if that helps, and add in 1 rooster, if you are not breeding I see no point in adding more than one rooster to a hen house or they could just add more drama to the problem.

I have read that low protein will cause this like Hidden River said.
I was reading and they said that to much white light will make them peck each other too. Do you leave the light in the coop on all night?

Hmm...great suggestions...thanks! I have them on layer feed at the moment with 16 percent protein. So should I find a way to still get them more protein? I think I will try it out! Also...Hidden you are right about the buffs. Every time I catch one picking relentlessly it has been an Orphington. Only once did I find a different breed being relentless...it was a Chanti and turned out to be a male..not a female as I initially thought. He is in with the boys now because hen or rooster...he was pecking everyone so out he went. Funny though...in the Bachelor Pad (my boys' habitat ) he has not bothered anyone. Guess that's what happens when you're at the bottom of the pecking order now..lol. I will try a rooster for sure and see if that helps as well as increasing the protein.

Oh...I also notice that certain breeds are being picked at more than others. The cochins seem to be getting it the worst, with some Ameraucanas and some Wyandottes getting pecked too but nowhere near as bad as the cochins. The chantis, buff orphs, crested polish, and the silkie hardly even have a feather out of place. Weird.

As for light, the only light in the coop at night is a very dim red glow from the heater. Otherwise they only have daylight that comes in through the 3 windows. I don't even use artificial lighting in winter to increase egg production at the moment because I just want them to be who they are with no outside pressure from me.

Thanks so much,

Wish me luck!

I agree with the others, uping your protein was the first thought that came to me. Cat food works, meat of any kind or even boiling eggs and mashing them and feed them back to the hens will work (I do this with my really dirty eggs).

Dont' panic or become disheartened, this is all part of the learning curve you go through and will be a better chicken keeper from it. I don't think it ever goes smoothly from the start, so many things to learn that come from experience and not just someone telling you how it is.

Chin up, keep enjoyiing them and you will figure it out.

In my experience, having too many breeds is like a bad day at the United Nations when the translators quit working. Mayhem!

You will note that birds of a feather flock together, form gangs, and bully those less aggressive types. Over years of keeping birds there are certain breeds who will NEVER darken my hen house door again! They were relentless bullies and got worse with age.

Also the optimum space doesn't always translate to enough space. I find with birds, less birds per sq foot is more. Once your roos go to freezer camp and if you boot some hens into the empty space, you might find a difference. But I would definitely separate the more aggressive breeds from the less pushy types.

When my ISA Browns became enraged, insane, terrorist pickers, nothing, NOTHING cured it. Not change in food, change in light, change in mentally amusing things to do, NOTHING. Chopping off all their heads fixed the problem and while many people are fans of the ISAs, never again on this property!

It might not be anything you are doing. It might just be an unfortunate mix of personalities. One day someone probably brouhgt up religion or politics and the feud has been raging ever since. Hair pulling and name calling. The UNited Nations gone bad. Sorry about all this. Good luck!

I was also wondering about how many different breeds. I agree with Uno. We have a lot of coop space and free range but I notice huge differences in breeds . My barred rocks seem to peck at anyone who comes near the feed trough I would never have them again. The barnies are the most timid and would probably get the crap pecked out of them but they are smart enough to be the first in at night and the last off the roost in the morning after everyone else has eaten and moved on. I also don't leave them cooped up for long after the first rays of the sun come up. I find if they are locked in the coop for too long they scrap more. I think it would be interesting to see what would happen if you separated some of the breeds.

vic's chicks wrote:I was also wondering about how many different breeds. I agree with Uno. We have a lot of coop space and free range but I notice huge differences in breeds . My barred rocks seem to peck at anyone who comes near the feed trough I would never have them again. I think it would be interesting to see what would happen if you separated some of the breeds.

What breeds are cooped together?

I have about 8 different breeds together and I also wondered at one time if this was a problem. My only question, however, is why the boys aren't behaving this way at all? I actually have more breeds of boys than girls and yet they don't seem to have any problems. They are let out every morning and not locked in until well after dark (now that it's winter) and they have a run that is 16 by 30 feet. The boys only have a run that is 16 by 20 and there are more of them. Still no problems. I can try separating breeds but find it strange that it's only the girls doing this. **sigh**

just a hunch but I have noticed throughout my life with numerous cats dogs birds rats rabbits etc that the boys are never scrappy when there are only boys. Girl cats and dogs in my experience are more apt to fight with other girl dogs and cats. Maybe chickens are the same.

You know Vic....you certainly are right about that! I wonder....does that apply to human females too?? Lol! Seems that men will throw a few punches and get it over with, then go have a beer together. Women however......hmm....

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Uno wrote:One day someone probably brought up religion or politics and the feud has been raging ever since. Hair pulling and name calling. The UNited Nations gone bad.

Ya, that was pretty funny, bet my bottom dollar that is what happened

Yep, for sure put a couple of roosters in with all those ladies. I have seen a rooster more than once break up a couple of girls goin' at each other outside. They don't like their ladies in distress. I would never be without a rooster to guard over his flock of gals, he is a powerful source of many good things for them. I love roosters as much as I love hens. Good luck too, I hope that you can get to the bottom of these nasty girls taking punches at each other. Girls can be very nasty when they are in large groups (and I don't speak only of the fowl). Have a wonderful and great day, CynthiaM.

There are different types of picking, and you can see the difference by spending time just watching the behavior of the hens. They will certainly use pecking to establish rank (pecking order) but from what I've seen that kind of peck looks very different than the shortage of protein type of picking.
Usually amongst hens those that are highest in rank will give the others a sharp peck to say "back away from the feeder" or "that is my spot on the roost - scoot!". They often aim for the head or neck area.

The feather-eaters are different. I had one little white chant hen that would follow the cochins around stealing feathers from their fuzzy butts to eat. I also saw her eating feathers off the floor, and this is what twigged me that I had to boost their protein. I used a combination of commercial protein/mineral supplement in their daily feed as well as some cooked and finely chopped beef tongue, liver, heart etc once per week. My family isn't very good at using those parts of the beef ourselves, so I cooked them all up and froze in margarine containers to use for the chickens and cats during the winter.
Back to the problem at hand, I think you will find a great improvement by adding the rooster to break up arguments, increasing protein and breaking up the one big group into the 2 coops as mentioned to give them more room and fewer breeds per coop. Sometimes picking can also become a very bad habit, so you'll have to keep watch and see if you have any offenders after you have implemented the changes.
As far as the relatively harmonious rooster coop...honestly it would only be a matter of time before the vicious fighting would begin. I've seen this year after year...the boys are all buddies and get along fine - maybe for most of the winter if you have no hens in with them. But eventually one day you will go out in the morning and some of them are bloodied and combs torn. As they become mature and get that spring fever happening, fighting will commence.
It is good to have all those males going to the processors with only a very few favorites left to rule the coop.

We feed the girls 21% layer mash in the winter to boost the protein. Also, they get vitamins on Mondays, yogurt on Wednesdays and apple cider vinegar on Fridays. Also we feed them greens that we get from the IGA three or more times a week and meat scraps when we have them. The girls have not yet been nasty to each other and we too have several breeds together. Good luck with your girls. I hope you find the answer. It is not nice to find an injured bird or dead one in the coop.