I'm at a loss to know what to do with Dorothy the egg eating fiend.
Now she's not only eating her own egg every morning, she's also attacking the two newbies - and they're so young they're terrified of her. If they're all in the run she won't even let them out of the house sometimes, and yesterday when they were free ranging one of them got so scared she pushed her way through the metal gate and on to our patio - fortunately our four dogs weren't freeranging at the time! We then had real problems getting the newbies back into the run at bedtime - understandably, they didn't want to go close.
Dorothy seems to be developing a habit of pecking at everything - she's had a go at my hands a couple of times in the last 24 hours, even though I wasn't holding anything.
So in desperation I'm looking for answers:
1. Separation - she's in a small puppy cage as I write, but I don't have the facilities to separate her from the others properly for any length of time and not overnight. Besides, that doesn't solve her egg eating problem.
2. Spectacles - hoping to hear from Bodger soon, but am concerned that she's getting so set in her ways that it may be too late.
3. Beak trimming - this is what's been advised by both the places I've had girls from, where they are more practical than sentimental. I don't like the idea of causing any animal unnecessary pain, and I know the idea is to make the beak a bit too sore for them to want to peck - is this a permanent thing? Does the beak heal & if so how soon? Does it ever grow back? How long will it feel sore? And does it work??
4. The ultimate deterrent - which will mean having to take her back to where she came from, because I wouldn't know how to do it & am unwilling to do it incompetently.
Suggestions on a postcard please!!