| Why Are My Chickens Attacking/Eating Each Other?
Hello, this is my first post.
I have a small backyard flock, now consisting of 8 chickens of mixed breeds, Araucana and Barred Rocks, and a mix of the two. They are less than a year old. I dont know the exact age, because I got them from a farmer with too many chickens.
I also had a Rhode Island Red and a Laced Wyandotte. They were about 4 months old.
I have had them for about 3 weeks now. They live in a nice shed with a 12X6' fenced area outside. I feed them layer mash, supplemented with veggies, fruit, and I even found a huge ant nest that I scooped out and fed to them.
3 mornings ago, I went outside to feed them, and I found that my Wyandotte was dead, and the Araucanas were eating her. Her face and throat had been ripped off.
I didnt find any evidence that the coop had been broken into by a wild animal.
The next morning, about 2 am, I heard the chickens squawking. I thought for sure something had broken in. I went out, and found my little Red was sitting there, alive, but half of her face had been ripped off. She died shortly after. All of the chickens were running around, so I dont know which one did this.
I dont know what to do! I dont know which chicken is doing this. Why would a chicken become cannibalistic like this? I have seen chickens peck each other, pull feathers, but nothing so grim like this.
If anyone has any answers or suggestions, please let me know.
Thanks!!
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