Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: cejx on December 04, 2010, 09:31
-
Hello,
I wrote last week that one of my little newly rescued ex bats was being badly bullied. Its still happening and I don't know what to do... its pretty vicious.
I've followed all the advice on these pages - different foods, coop enrichment, separate feeding, separate areas etc etc.
Bed time it seems to be OK and they all huddle together, but come the morning, all hell breaks loose! I've sprayed her with anti peck spray - and I gave the others a quick blast so she doesn't smell different. Additionally, the other 5 are all getting their feathers back, they've grown and are looking pretty healthy, whereas little girl looks the same old sad ex bat that we got originally.
I work during the day, do haven;t been able to observe them properly in daylight hours, but it was pretty grim this morning - to the extent, little hen jumped into my arms for comfort (covering me in poo)!
Any advice? Any anti peck sprays that work? Any food that calms them? HELP!
Claire x
-
fit anti peck beak clips to the others - they will still be able to eat and drink but not able to peck her :)
-
How do you fit these things :unsure:
Been looking on the web & they look quite horrible :wub:
-
ideally it is a two person job, one to hold the chicken still and the other to open the ends out and fit them on. You can soften them by placing them in hot water but there really is no need. The chickens will try getting them off at first by rubbing their head on the ground (very much like one of my old dogs did with his halti collar) but they soon forget :)
-
fit anti peck beak clips to the others - they will still be able to eat and drink but not able to peck her :)
OK, I shall! Thanks, I guess that they won't stop the other girls chasing her and basically flattening her whenever they see her...
-
sadly there is always one at the bottom of the pecking order and it looks like she is this one, make sure she has places to hide and that you have several feeders and drinkers so that she can get some food :)
-
Just found this site - are these what you mean as i saw somehing different which i think they call Bkinders.
http://www.domesticfowltrust.co.uk/products/info_apb.html (http://www.domesticfowltrust.co.uk/products/info_apb.html)
-
yes they're the ones Craig :)
very simple and effective, after a while they work loose and can be taken off but hopefully by then they will have gotten out of the pecking habit and if not then fit new ones. Also it will give the pecked one chance to gain her confidence and her new feathers so she will look the same as the others :)
-
I have little to no further ideas from joyful but I thought I would let you know that I'll be thinking of you and your poor beaten up little hen, your message seamed so sad and unhappy.
I've never needed to use the beak clips but have helped a friend fit them to her hens and she felt they certainly helped. The animal kingdom can be very harsh.
-
Good Luck from me too :)
-
I'll keep my fingers crossed for you and the wee hen, it's not nice.
-
Hi Craig,
I do hope those antipeck clip things work! You're poor little hen must be right fed up.... Someone advised me once to use a solution of white wine vinegar and water to spray on all the birds - this way they all smell the same so are a bit more accepting of each other...
Never had to try it myself
fingers crossed for you and your little hen
-
Hi guys & girls - it was Cejx who posted the question, i just added to it.
I managed to stop mine with the Anti Pecking Spray.
Just wanted to know what these things you attach were.
I'm still fairly new to this & like to keep learning as much as i can :)
-
well, I've changed her anti peck spray, and I've ordered some beak clips for the others... though unfortunately it won't stop them chasing her and flattening her with their big feet.
This is her nestling in to me yesterday... poor little love.
Claire x
-
Poor wee hen :( our girls were vicious to our 3 new girls (not exbats) and in the end I had to move them in with our poots.
They've been fine until yesterday when 1 of the bantams decided to pick on 1 of the poots, very bad idea, the only feathers flying were the bantams as the 4 poots mobbed her, she wont be trying that again in a hurry :nowink:
Do you think if pictures of battery hens were put on the egg boxes and above the egg cartons in supermarkets people would still want to eat those eggs?
-
I bet it wouldn't stop that many people buying eggs from battery farms - some people just buy what is cheapest & don't care where it came from.
Good idea though!
Might add a couple pictures to my customer payment slips & website to do my bit!
-
I know your right Craig, we can only but try and live in hope that sense will eventually prevail :happy:
-
as i mentioned on another thread, in my experience, vic ( the decongestant ) on the victim stopped the bullies after only one or two tastes. i was reluctant at first to use it but when you see how cruel they can be to each other and the damage they can do you have to find something.
-
as i mentioned on another thread, in my experience, vic ( the decongestant ) on the victim stopped the bullies after only one or two tastes. i was reluctant at first to use it but when you see how cruel they can be to each other and the damage they can do you have to find something.
I shall give that a go. I'll try anything to be honest - but then again, its not just the pecking, its the chasing and them flattening her with their big chickeny feet. I've tried two types of antipeck and neither have worked.
Current update - as of this morning (as advised by the BHWT) I've separated the bully, and she is rather miserably residing in a stable. I was hoping it would sort stuff out, but no. I now worry I've separated the wrong chicken! Its becoming a farce. However, I shall leave her as advised for 48 hours, and then playing musical chickens, will separate another head honcho.
Just one question, I've enriched their coop, mixed up there foods, done everything I can think of to keep them 'amused' (6 hens in a 12x6 ft coop so space isn't an issue), but the just don't seem to be bothered. Is thins because they're ex bats - and thus don't understand 'treats' or 'play'? So many peeps on here says that their hens will kill for a grape - mine, didn't bat an eyelid! Any advice on this?