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[Trapper]

Hi guys

 

I have recently had many problems with my hens, most of you have probable read about them and many have written back with sympathy and encouragement.

 

My question is who rules the roost? Pepperpots or Gingernuts.

 

From my flock it is definitely the Pepperpots they are much more mature and aggressive than the Gingernuts.

 

Could this be a problem caused inadvertently by Omlet? It seems that many people who have had the same problem as me is with these two breeds.

 

Could it be that the birds bought in are of such differing ages that the Pepperpots being that much older are more likely to attack Gingernuts? Should Omlet change the age groups of the chickens and sell older Gingernuts?

 

I’m not criticising Omlet but if so many of us are having the problem maybe we should make them aware of the situation.

 

What do you think?

 

Trapper

[Sarah B]

Hi Trapper,

 

I have just the one of each. I'm convinced the Gingernut is about 2 weeks younger than the Pepperpot.

 

So far (fingers crossed), I have not had any problems but I think this is because:

a) I just have the 2

and b) because only the Pepperpot is laying.

 

I would say out of my 2 the Gingernut is actually top in the pecking order as I've seen her giving the Pepperpot the odd peck (and headbutt)

 

The weird thing is the Pepperpot is a much bigger bird??

[Stevie]

I have a Gingernut and Pepperpot and they get along just fine.I only got them last friday from Omlet and the man said they'd probably sorted out who's the boss enroute to me.The Pepperpot is the larger bird so perhaps a week or so older,but the Gingernut rules the roost!

[Trapper]

Thanks for the replies but this problem seems to happen after some time together. In my case it happened all of a sudden after the hens had been together for over 2 months.

 

Strange I know I would have thought that they would have sorted it out by then but it seems to happen to people when the Pepperpots come into lay befor the Gingernuts.

 

I just hope it doesn't happen to others.

[Hen Watch]

There certainly does seem to be a few new chook owners with recent hen pecking problems.

 

I suppose it's hard to Omlet to forecast which of the 2 breeds people are likely to choose. My lot arrived exactly 1 year ago. I had 2 GN's and 2 PP's. The GN's were only slightly bigger and laid first.

 

I did not have any pecking order fighting with the original arrivals. (Only some when I introduced a new hen to replace 1 that died). My GN's are both top in the pecking order and rule the roost.

 

I do hope your hens sort it out soon.

[dogs and chickens]

Hi There,

 

I have 3 PP's and 2 GNR's. As you have said the PP's are bigger than the GNR's. Maybe I have not had them long enough but they all seem to get on brilliantly. I also now have 15 chickens all together so that may contribute. Only 1 of the PP's is laying, so maybe I will encounter problems once they are all laying. However when one of the hens does have a go, they all seem to stick together and protect the picked on one. So they don't have a go for long!

 

I really hope I do not have these problems and I feel really sorry for anyone who does. I wonder if this could be a space issue?

 

However I agree it would be better if Omlet were able to give more info on when the chickens were hatched. I don't really see why they can't, when I brought my other chickens (2 different places), they were able to tell me there age, almost to the day! When my Omlet girls arrived I was told they were all about 16 weeks. However the are clearly much younger , they must surely know this, so why do they not just say so ?

[superjules]

However I agree it would be better if Omlet were able to give more info on when the chickens were hatched. I don't really see why they can't, when I brought my other chickens (2 different places), they were able to tell me there age, almost to the day! When my Omlet girls arrived I was told they were all about 16 weeks. However the are clearly much younger , they must surely know this, so why do they not just say so ?

 

I don't know about where Omlet get their hens from but when you buy hybrids from my local poultry centre they have been produced on a massive scale. Thorne's buy them in 230-odd per month - they are hatched in Holland before being brought over here, so you can't get much more accurate information on them, other than "they're approx X-weeks old". It's not like purebreeds which will have been hatched at the place you bought them from.

[dogs and chickens]

I don't know about where Omlet get their hens from but when you buy hybrids from my local poultry centre they have been produced on a massive scale. Thorne's buy them in 230-odd per month - they are hatched in Holland before being brought over here, so you can't get much more accurate information on them, other than "they're approx X-weeks old". It's not like purebreeds which will have been hatched at the place you bought them from.

 

Yes, I know that I brought hybrids from a local poultry centre that has them delivered each month, they were able to tell how old they were though! It's not really that hard is it, even if they do have hundreds delivered, to know basically when they were hatched, the batches of chickens must all have hatched at about the same time (within a few days of each other)! I'm not saying Omlet should have a birth certificate for each hen, I just think they could be a little more exact!

 

Michelle

[xScrunchee]

Hi Trapper

 

I had 1 gingernut and 2 pepperpots but sadly had to get rid of both pepperpots and replace them with gingernuts.

 

The pepperpots both had behaviour problems which I tried to resolve for months to no avail.

 

One liked to peck the feathers at the base of the spine untill blood was drawn and the other enjoyed pulling out and eating the others fluffy knickers untill one day she nearly ate poor rose!!

 

Omlet told me on the telephone that pepperpots do have a bit of a tendancy to show some signs of having a 'strong character'!!

 

I wondered if it was over breeding/bad bredding etc but people say that other breeds do it too.

I have read a few sites that say that chicken breeders will cull feather plucking hens as the bad trait passes on from one generation to the next so by culling 'problem birds' it nips it in the bud.

 

I still feel angry that I had to get rid of two hens who I loved dearly due to problem behaviours.

 

Lately people are saying that there seems to be more of a problem with feather plucking than usual and considering the fact that garden hens have suddenly became more popular than ever it gets me thinking that maybe it is all down to bad breeding and birds are just being breed to meet the growing demand and the behaviour issues are being breed into the next generation.

 

Considering Omlet are who many people turn to when first starting out I really think that they ought to be more careful about the hens they supply as it is hard going for the new chicken owner when you encounter all of these problems after reading on the Omlet site about how hen keeping is so easy, enjoyable etc.

 

I know that people will now say that it's not Omlets fault etc but I believe that they buy 'cheap' hens who are bred on a massive scale just to supply the demand.

[Egluntyne]

My Pepperpots are massive compared to my Gingernuts....but they are all as daft as brushes and are definitely way down in the pecking order.

[ajm200]

My littlest gingernut is definately in charge but that might change when they all start laying. She's also the naughtiest and the friendliest. She follows us everywhere, loves cuddles and tries all ways to get into the house and garage. She can also fly despite a clipped wing.

 

The pepperpots are lovely, very friendly and great with my little boy. They run to us and don't mind being handled. The gingernuts are the only ones that have given him an occassional peck.

 

Two of my gingernuts are very nervous and don't like to be touched. They aren't the friendly girls that we were expecting.

 

I wouldn't change any of my girls

[Gallina]

Jay: I agree with you entirely.

 

I started off as nearly everyone did with a Gingernut and Pepperpot, and thought they were wonderful until I introduced two new hens, then the savagery from the Pepperpot started.

 

I thought it was a one-off, and had another Pepperpot and Gingernut delivered with my Cube, and this time it was the new Gingernut who was evil from the start: she was only a baby, but attacked the other babies so viciously I thought she had killed my little Amber Star.

 

I am not keen on hybrids any more. They are bred to be very strong so that they can have an unnaturally large number of eggs. This doesn't feel right either. When I first started, I don't think I realized that the natural way for hens is the same as for bluetits: to have five or six eggs in the spring, and that is it. My first Pepperpot burned herself out laying every day for two years, then dragged herself around for another year before dying of old age at the grand age of nearly three.

 

I know some people are happy with their hybrids, but cannot recommend pure breeds too highly if you are thinking of getting some more. They don't seem so violent, and they can live for ten years.

[Chooks Aloud]

I've certainly had no problem with my Pepperpot - lovely, friendly bird; even when we introduced new hens to the flock, there was no aggression just the odd little peck to reinstate the order.

 

Karen

[Helen&Lee]

Thanks for the replies but this problem seems to happen after some time together. In my case it happened all of a sudden after the hens had been together for over 2 months.

 

Strange I know I would have thought that they would have sorted it out by then but it seems to happen to people when the Pepperpots come into lay befor the Gingernuts.

 

I just hope it doesn't happen to others.

 

I have been reading your feather plucking posts with interest as I have the same problem at the moment.

 

My Pepperpot, Gingernut and 1 Brahma were laying through the winter and all was harmonious in the pack - it's when the other Brahmas came into lay in Feb that my problems have started.

 

All the chooks coming into lay must have affected the pecking order and in the past 10 days I've noticed yet more subtle changes to back this up - like the Cream Legbar won't eat treats from the same dish as the others - I now put two dishes out

 

The Buff Brahma, who I have as the feather plucker suspect being as she is 1 of 2 with no feathers missing, is a snooty madam who doesn't like being handled - but I've never seen her attack the others, whereas 2 of the other Brahmas I've spotted acting defensively.

 

I don't shut the cube door at night now and they seem to be a bit better - we thought perhaps the feather plucking was happening in the morning when they were waiting to be let out! I'm also making more of an effort to handle the Buff Brahma in a hope to make her less of a madam!

 

I've also got a broody Brahma at the moment - at least that's givng her a chance to grow her feathers back

 

Helen

[Chuckov]

Interesting topic - my Pepperpot has just started pecking my Gingernut after a month together, so I suspect/hope/fervently wish that it means she is just about to come into lay!

 

Ginger doesn't seem to mind at all, she just stands and takes it, even when she's being pecked on the comb. Very bizarre.

 

Having chatted with some of the other March deliveries, it seems that the Pepperpots are definitely older than the Gingernuts.

[Trapper]

It seems so far that the Pepperpots are more aggressive.

 

We took our Gingernut to A specialist bird vet as she was badly feather plucked and bleeding. He said that she was very fit and about to come into lay. When we asked about using Stockholm tar he advised against this and said that it was old fashioned and that it should not be used (Confused as so many people on the forum use it). She was given antibiotics and another injection. We were just told to keep her separate until the feathers had grown back and then slowly re-introduce her back to the Cube/Run.

 

Chuckov, I totally agree my Gingernut just stands or sits and takes all the pecking/bully that the Pepperpot wishes to inflict.

 

We are going to give it ago, as now down to 3 chickens from 5 and with anymore going I could have used a shoe box to keep this hobby up and saved £100's.

[Gallina]

My Pepperpot No. 1 never touched flesh: this is the kind of damage she did:

Not pretty, but not lethal. (It's a Cochin's bottom, in case you are not sure what you are looking at.)

 

My Gingernut took flesh away as well and it was too horrible to take a picture; but she did not touch the Cochin, but started on her best friend and lifelong companion, Pepperpot No. 2. And the Pepperpot would just lie down and let her get on with it, which I found very strange.

[Snoxy]

I was really worried after reading stories of hens pecking each other so badly they either died or had to be put to sleep I posted a message asking for advice on v and received lots of reassurance that it is generally down to the personality of each individual hen rather than breed.

 

Our 3 girls arrived on Tuesday...1 who definitely looks the youngest and 2 ...one of which is much bigger than the other If my children had not named them I would call them small, medium and large So far the girls have behaved impeccably but I am wary that this may change in the future...although I really hope things don't change for the worse

[Abbey Road Girl]

The very best of luck, Lou. That what it seems to come down to!

[Snoxy]

Thanks Sue

 

It appears luck plays a big part I am increasingly anxious after reaiding about the problems some members have had with their girls but I have to take every day as it comes and hope for the best.

 

I have to admit there was a time before our girls arrived when I considered cancelling our order as I was so worried that I just wouldn't be able to cope

[Daisy & Hattie]

I have one of each and they have resided in my back garden for 7 months and I have to say that they get along great. Although the is definately 'in charge'! She doesn't peck but is wlays the first to get treats and sleep in the nesting box etc. just seems to let her get on with it and worries when the 'boss' isn't around. The gingernut is definately my fave as she seems to be a bit docuile and gentle in comparison.

[Trudy]

Hi Trapper. just read your posting and i am in full agreement with you if you read my posting on 15.4.08 re dead chicken this relates to exactly the same problem, have had our hens for 5 weeks the pepperpots have started laying but the gingernuts are nowhere near ready. As you will read we have already had the smallest gingernut attacked and killed and the pepperpots have started feather pulling the other 4 gingers. Having never kept chickens before I read as much as I could and Omlet seemed to be the best option for the complete set up and as I understand about pecking orders having 10 hens altogether seemed the sensible thing to do so they could all settle in together, all was fine with no signs of bullying until the pepperpots starting laying. Getting very paranoid now about the remaining 4 gingernuts as I cant seperate them as I havent got anywhere to put them. Trudy.