Poultry farmers can often not observe the most pleasant picture when laying hens begin to arrange terrible fights. Why do chickens peck each other? How to prevent this? Are there any ways to solve the problem?
How does this happen?
The terrible battles in the chicken coop are very unpredictable. A rooster can attack a chicken, large individuals begin to peck at small pets. As soon as an individual sees the blood, it seems to lose its mind and begins to attack even more on the damaged place of the opponent.
All of these damages can become dangerous. If they are not processed on time, then an infection will enter the bird's body. Most often, because of this, the hen has to be killed.
You can find out that in the absence of a poultry breeder, fights took place on feathers scattered everywhere, blood stains and abrasions. To prevent unpleasant consequences, you need to find out the main reasons why chickens peck each other?
Excessively bright light
The long daylight hours in chickens cause severe nervousness. They especially do not like when a bright light is lit in the chicken coop throughout the day. They begin to "break" and pounce on each other.
To avoid this problem, every four hours, hens should be driven into the chicken coop. The room in which they are located should be properly equipped. It is not recommended to buy high power lamps. It is best to prefer dull red or blue tones that will not affect the psyche of birds. We must remember the length of the day, which should not exceed 14 hours.
Variety of breeds
There is the most common reason why each other pecks. It is connected with the fact that several breeds of birds are in the same room at the same time. Each individual has certain character traits. For example, white hens are the most aggressive. The darker the color tone, the calmer the layer. It is worth considering this factor before breeding birds of different breeds.
If it is not possible to keep similar individuals, then it is worth “breaking” all the pets into classes, allocating a separate pen for each of them.
Not enough space
Each poultryman has repeatedly thought about why hens peck each other's legs? With such a gesture, they are trying to drive out the "cohabitants", freeing up more space for themselves. If in the summer they can fully walk on the street, then in winter they have to cram in a chicken coop.
Many owners make a global mistake - they breed many birds in order to obtain a large stock of products. It is absolutely impossible to do this. To make the layers comfortable, it is worth breeding them correctly, per calculation: 10 individuals per 1 square meter. It is also recommended to make sure that each of them has enough feeders and drinking bowls.
Not enough humid air
There is a main reason why chickens peck each other in the tail. It is directly related to insufficient moisture in the air. You can see that most often this happens in the winter season, when birds spend most of their time in the chicken coop.
Feathers become brittle due to excessive air dryness. Due to discomfort, the chicken seeks to process the tail with its own saliva, but it affects the subcutaneous cover, injuring itself. Thus, it provokes their “cohabitants” to bite.
In order to prevent this from happening, it is necessary to create optimal conditions for keeping hens. The room should be regularly ventilated, but in such a way that drafts do not appear. You can also buy special equipment that will humidify the air in the room.
Individual feature
Experienced breeders assure that sometimes individuals peck at their “comrades-in-arms” due to individual characteristics. One pet from a very early age begins to pounce on other chicks, after which it turns into a bad habit that will haunt him throughout his life. Most often this applies to exotic species.
In this case, there is no need to find out why the chickens are pecking each other. It is necessary to isolate the pest from the general chicken coop.
Creating a stressful situation
Sometimes poultry farmers themselves become the culprits of why chickens peck priests to each other. Without knowing it, they create a dangerous stressful situation for them. It is strictly forbidden to allow a change in the situation for adults (to transport them from one chicken coop to another). It is also undesirable to swap feeders and drinking bowls. If you want to sell one individual, then it is better to do this at a very young age. Any change causes stress for the laying hen, because of which she becomes overly aggressive and lashes out at her “roommates”.
The chicken coop should also always have only a calm tonal atmosphere. Do not allow the presence of bright objects.
Adverse situation
The main reason why chickens bite each other to death is due to their overly aggressive state. Only adverse conditions can cause such stress. Each poultry breeder should pay attention to five important points:
- The room should always be cool, do not allow too high or low air temperature.
- If individuals live in cells, then they should not be too crowded.
- No need to organize a chicken coop near noisy places.
- It is recommended to buy a sufficient number of drinking bowls and feeders, approximately one each for three individuals.
- Dead birds should be immediately removed from the chicken coop.
If all the above conditions are observed, then the laying hens will always feel calm, they will have no reason to attack their brothers.
Not enough nutrients
Veterinarians and poultry farmers managed to find out why chickens peck each other to the head. This phenomenon is directly related to the insufficient amount of nutrients in the body, especially sulfur. In order for an individual to feel good, at least once a week, the following beneficial substances should be added to its diet:
- Protein of animal origin: fresh fishmeal, any dairy product or live worms. Insects of the chicken themselves are able to get in the summer. For the winter, it is better to store and store them in a cold space. For example, you can put animals into a small container and bury them in the ground.
- Vegetation: sunflower, peas or soy.
- Be sure to supplement the diet with sulfur, approximately 1 gram per day for each individual.
You should not allow the opposite situation, that is, an excess of vitamins. For example, if a bird contains a large amount of protein, then it may involuntarily start to protrude blood, and this will provoke its brethren to bite. It is also worth taking care that there is always fresh water in the drinkers. Chicken breeding specialists do not recommend using zinc dishes for feeding, this can cause poisoning.
How to avoid battles?
As it turned out, there are many reasons why chickens bite each other to the point of blood. Such battles can lead to the most unpleasant consequences. There are several popular methods that can help avoid them:
- You should tie wreaths from natural products and hang them in the chicken coop. For example, you can use the tops of grass, cabbage or nettles. It is recommended to change such an accessory once a week, it will be an excellent soothing remedy for birds.
- Regularly it is worth trimming the beak, approximately one third of its entire length.
- There is always an activist in every pack. He first begins to pounce on the weakest individual, and all the other "cohabitants" take an example from him. It is necessary to calculate this pest and isolate it.
- Once a week, for laying hens, you must have healthy baths. To do this, mix river sand with ash, pour this mixture into a spacious container and set it in the center of the house for several hours.
- The brain of a bird should always be enriched with oxygen, therefore it is recommended to regularly arrange a walk and airing for it.
Of course, all of the above methods do not guarantee that chickens will no longer pounce on each other, but they will behave much more calmly.
Classification by type
Large poultry farms have veterinarians. They, like no one else, know the nature of individuals and can determine why chickens peck each other to the point of blood. For each newcomer to this activity, the first thing they recommend doing is to break all the birds into several separate classes.
First you need to distribute them in color. Yellow layers are the calmest, you can contain up to 10 pieces per square meter. Holders of individuals of a white color should reduce this amount by exactly 2 times. The rarest species is black. They can also live in large packs.
It is approximately necessary to classify chickens by age, since strong birds will always encroach on weak pets. It is also always worthwhile to separate sick individuals from healthy ones.
First aid
If in time it was not possible to find out why the laying hens are pecking each other, and a large-scale battle still took place, then it is necessary to provide first aid to the injured bird.
An antiseptic must always be present in the medicine cabinet of each poultry breeder. These include iodine, penicillin or ichthyol ointment. This drug should be used to treat the edges of the wound so that infection does not enter the body through it. A similar procedure is recommended to be carried out approximately three times a day for one week, this is how long the recovery process after an illness usually lasts.
For some time, sick animals must be isolated from the pack so that their brethren do not continue to attack it. For her, it is worth organizing a calm regime and a balanced diet. Veterinarians recommend soldering a sick bird with herbal infusions. Daily it is worth observing the individual’s state of health, if there are no improvements, then it becomes necessary to consult a specialist. Often he comes to the conclusion that you need to kill a chicken.
Birds are a living organism that has certain living conditions. That is why they often do things that are impossible for a person to understand. The poultry breeder should carefully study all the main reasons why chickens peck each other, know the preventive actions and the features of their residence. Timely measures taken will help to avoid an adverse outcome.