Why chickens and roosters peck each other until they bleed
Many farmers are wondering why chickens peck each other until they bleed? When breeding chickens, this problem is quite relevant. To understand why they peck themselves or their fellows in this way sometimes even to death, it is necessary to find out the reasons for this behavior. The first thing that poultry farmers may notice on the body of chickens is bald patches or even bleeding wounds. Chickens strongly peck each other to the blood or even to the death of a relative.
Why do chickens peck each other until they bleed
There are many reasons for this, but as a rule, it is due to a lack of nutrients. Basically, this period falls on the time when it comes molt or the cold season begins. Such pecking is nothing more than pterophagy. What to do if chickens and roosters eat poorly and peck each other? If you notice how broilers or layers are pecking on another bird or chickens, then you need to make a fence from the most furious birds and understand the reasons for this behavior.
After all, if layers or chicks are pecked to death, then in this case, the farmer suffers a loss. Chicks or laying hens, unlike adult males, are not yet able to resist the fact that they are pecked by a congener. In this case, it is important to provide the bird with good care and maintenance, select high-quality feed high in protein, calcium and other nutrients.
Why do chickens peck each other to the blood
Why do chickens peck at each other, and chicks or layers attack? In fact, there can be a large number of such reasons, we will pay attention to the most basic of them:
- Malnutrition. Of course, poultry should regularly receive high-quality, balanced feed, rich in vitamins and microelements, but special attention should be paid to the quality of feed during moulting and egg-laying. If this condition is not observed, then the bird will not even be able to move normally and actively. To compensate for the deficiency of missing micronutrients, the chicken can begin to pluck and eat feathers from other birds, while wounding a relative. And if the wounded individual is not isolated in time, then there will be no chances for her to survive.
- Crowding in the chicken coop. This reason manifests itself with improper maintenance or in winter. If the chickens sit in a small room, for a long time they do not have the opportunity to go out for a walk, then the lack of comfort forces the bird and it pecks itself and its fellows, plucks out and also shows aggression. It is necessary to check the presence of feeders and drinkers, because their lack can provoke a conflict between individuals. It is also worth noting that chickens have their own hierarchy, which sometimes turns into bullying. If young animals are added to the old birds in a crowded chicken coop, then bloodshed cannot be avoided.
- Light exposure or very long daylight hours. The quality of lighting in a chicken coop is also an important issue. In very bright and prolonged light, birds become nervous and aggressive.The fact is that they clearly see blood vessels, veins and begin to deliberately peck at them, and if the chicken feels blood, it can no longer stop, which can lead to death. The target of the lesion is usually the eyes, cloaca, neck, feathers, and abdomen.
- Climatic conditions. It is necessary to observe the climate in the chicken coop. With a lack of moisture, the feathers are made dry. Chicken or roosters press on the coccygeal gland with their beak and can damage their skin.
- Incompatibility of breeds and colors. In this case, the chickens planted in the flock suffer the most. Most conflicts arise in birds of different color of feathers, so it is not recommended to plant white chickens with dark ones. If planted together, then carefully observe them, otherwise there will be an individual that bites others.
- Climate change causes stress in birds, making them nervous and aggressive. It is necessary to transport chickens to a new place along with their feeders and drinkers, to which they are accustomed.
Please note that the optimal space for four chickens is 1 square meter so that the roosters do not cling to their tail, the duration of daylight hours should be no more than 12 - 14 hours with an intensity of 60 watts per 10 square meters.
The clinical picture of pecking
The scale of the disaster depends on factors such as the freshness of the wound and the location and extent of the damage received.
- lack of protein and feed provokes pecking of the skin, near the toes, and chickens also pinch themselves and their relatives
- if the feed is poorly digested, then the chickens actively peck on the tail
- at prolapse of the oviduct and if the cloaca is damaged, chickens peck at the cloaca
First, some individuals appear, they peck at wounds where there are no feathers. Then the number of such chickens increases and they pluck out feathers. The wounded bird sharply loses weight and loses strength to resist. Such a bird can be pecked by the whole chicken coop. It so happens that a brood hen blows away thin-shell egg and pecks at it. In the future, this can turn into a bad habit - to peck on normal eggs. I would like to note that roosters, as a rule, do not peck chickens, but from the side of hens, you can expect massive cannibalism. How the wounds look after pecking can be seen in the photo or video.
Features of feeding chickens
It is necessary to make and think over a balanced diet for every day. An excess of protein disrupts the acid-base balance in the bird's body: vitamin A is destroyed, metabolism changes. This leads to the onset of acidosis. Deficiency of protein and calcium forces an adult bird or chickens to make up for their deficiency in all possible ways. Sometimes unhealed wounds after vaccination can cause pecking, but this is a rather rare case. It is necessary to review and adjust the daily diet of birds. If there is a need to change the feed, then this should be done gradually.
To replenish protein and nutrients, vitamins and minerals should be added to the bird menu, for example, legumes (peas, beans, soy), milk powder, dairy products, meat and bone or fish meal. It is also a good idea to add ash, carrots, cabbage, shellfish, good quality silage. It is imperative to introduce into the feed such substances as arginine, sulfur, cystine, bromine, manganese, copper and iron sulfates. If chickens have a different diet, then they need to be separated, since each individual considers the food put in front of her that this is my diet.
Treatment and prevention of pecking
In order not to incur huge losses in the chicken coop, timely preventive measures must be taken. If crowded, especially in the cold season, sprinkle some grains or pieces of vegetables onto the straw bedding in the house. Paint the lamps with matte red or blue, then chickens will not see wounds and blood vessels on their relatives. it is necessary to equip the house with the optimal number of drinkers and feeder, do ventilation in room.If there are places for pecking, then treat them with a special disinfectant solution and remove the wounded chickens.
If new or young chickens have been added to the flock, then observe how the old inhabitants of the hen house behave. Old-timers can attack newcomers, in which case, the aggressor will need to be temporarily isolated. Even if a bird or newborn chickens have small wounds, and even more so if they have been seriously attacked, then they must be planted for a while separately from the flock. In addition to the bird that was attacked, let's assume that this is a beta individual, you need to calculate the main aggressor and instigator, for example, an individual si, and also find and eliminate the cause of this behavior. The wound must be lubricated with disinfecting solutions. In more detail, the methods of treatment and prevention can be viewed in the photo or video.