What makes a chicken coop easy to live with?

[fluffhy]

Hi everyone. I would appreciate any advice about this stressful situation, please!

I have three Sussex bantams and very recently, hen 1 started pecking at the head feathers of hen 2 and 3. It all started when hen 2 went broody and became very quiet - she's no longer broody and seems poorly (vet visit incoming) and her standing placidly around, only encouraged the pecking.

The habit seems to have been picked up (to a lesser extent) by the others. I've used the Net-tex Anti Feather Pecking Spray (which strangely has no smell despite what I've read online), tried separating the main culprit for a few days out of sight, and extended the run. They have 3 metres total, haven't been able to let them free range in the garden due to worries about Avian Flu, and I've added more enrichment to the run - hanging greens in a net, a CD, a xylophone, a pecker block, etc.

The feather (eating?) persists.

I'm thinking of using the bumpa bits or pinless peepers/blinkers. I've heard that the bumpa bits are much harder to put on so I thought I'd start with the pinless peepers, but I have no idea where the best place to get them is, whether they'd fit the bantams' small beaks or whether it will actually help! Feeling very worried as I've been told the issue may never be sorted and it's upsetting as I never experienced this issue with my previous hens. Any advice or even anecdotes of successful/unsuccessful attempts to break the habit would be helpful to hear. Thank you!

Edited January 8, 2023 by fluffhy

[Cat tails]

Sorry to hear you are struggling!

Haven’t used bumpa bits myself, but many on here have. One often mentioned tip for the bumpa bits is soaking them in hot water before fitting to make them more pliable. Also it’s supposed to be much easier with the right pliers.

Have not heard of the peepers before, so no advice from me there.

[Beantree]

We haven't had that much success with the Nettex anti-peck spray either @fluffhy. It doesn't smell, just tastes horrible they say. Occasionally it works for us, but I always feel sorry for the victim who then can't preen without tasting it. Finding the culprit and fitting a beak bit does work though. Omlet sell them and you will need what are called 'external circlip pliars' to fit them easily because they open up as you squeeze the handles together, although you could use some fine nosed pliars and pull the handles to open the bit. I haven't heard of 'pinless peepers' until now, but having Googled them I can see they just stop the hen from seeing straight in front. Two problems I can think of. Firstly they may be easy to scratch off and secondly how do they see to eat?

Beak bits come in two sizes that I know of, 25 and 30mm. Your bantam will need the smaller one. Buy half a dozen because they can break and they can come out if not fitted properly into the nose holes. Don't worry, they can still breath through the airways inside the upper beak.

[mullethunter]

I have a hen who pulls out and eats her own feathers when they start to regrow after a moult. The only solution I’ve found is to use a bumpa bit and leave it on for a few weeks until the feathers are no longer new and tasty.

They are difficult to put on, you do need to get the proper pliers Beantree mentions and as Cattails says soaking in almost boiling water to soften them does help. Even then I tend to snap about 2 out of every 3 so make sure you order lots more than you need. I absolutely hate them but the hen does get used to them fairly quickly - just make sure the feed is quite deep. They do work. I have no experience of pinless peepers I’m afraid.

[fluffhy]

On 1/8/2023 at 5:44 PM, Cat tails said:

Sorry to hear you are struggling!

Haven’t used bumpa bits myself, but many on here have. One often mentioned tip for the bumpa bits is soaking them in hot water before fitting to make them more pliable. Also it’s supposed to be much easier with the right pliers.

Have not heard of the peepers before, so no advice from me there.

Thank you ❤️ I keep coming across the hot water tip so I'll definitely keep that in mind!

On 1/9/2023 at 9:17 AM, Beantree said:

We haven't had that much success with the Nettex anti-peck spray either @fluffhy. It doesn't smell, just tastes horrible they say. Occasionally it works for us, but I always feel sorry for the victim who then can't preen without tasting it. Finding the culprit and fitting a beak bit does work though. Omlet sell them and you will need what are called 'external circlip pliars' to fit them easily because they open up as you squeeze the handles together, although you could use some fine nosed pliars and pull the handles to open the bit. I haven't heard of 'pinless peepers' until now, but having Googled them I can see they just stop the hen from seeing straight in front. Two problems I can think of. Firstly they may be easy to scratch off and secondly how do they see to eat?

Beak bits come in two sizes that I know of, 25 and 30mm. Your bantam will need the smaller one. Buy half a dozen because they can break and they can come out if not fitted properly into the nose holes. Don't worry, they can still breath through the airways inside the upper beak.

It's a relief to know it's not just mine that doesn't have a nasty scent, I was at my wits end thinking I'd have to order another bottle and I've already spent far too much trying to rid them of this horrible habit 😅 Great to hear the beak bit works!! All the tips here are very much appreciated, I'll look out for the fitting device and order the 25mm with spares as you said  

[fluffhy]

On 1/9/2023 at 7:05 PM, mullethunter said:

I have a hen who pulls out and eats her own feathers when they start to regrow after a moult. The only solution I’ve found is to use a bumpa bit and leave it on for a few weeks until the feathers are no longer new and tasty.

They are difficult to put on, you do need to get the proper pliers Beantree mentions and as Cattails says soaking in almost boiling water to soften them does help. Even then I tend to snap about 2 out of every 3 so make sure you order lots more than you need. I absolutely hate them but the hen does get used to them fairly quickly - just make sure the feed is quite deep. They do work. I have no experience of pinless peepers I’m afraid.

I'm sorry to hear about your hen! Thank you for sharing your experience, I'm leaning towards just getting the bumpa bits in place instead of just trying out 65473 other strategies in hopes the FP stops.

Might have to see if I can find anyone with experience locally to help me out, as I'm not the daintiest with my hands and putting them on seems to me, terrifying!

Do you have any suggestions/resources for putting them on safely, please?

It's relieving to hear they do work. Thank you and to the other lovely people in this forum for helping me out ❤️