4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[Jenny Smedley]

Hi everyone ,

Just got some ex battery hens who have some sore looking bald patches & are also pecking at each others bald patches & combs- any suggestions as to what I can cover/ treat the skin with so that they heal ? They are pecking each other so much that they are drawing blood. If it tastes/smells bad so it also puts them off pecking the sore areas that would also be good.

Thanks, Jenny

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Sorry to hear about your girls' sore bits . There have been a few posts about this recently (have a look back through the Clinic) but I think people have suggested tea tree oil (diluted) to treat sore bits and some kind of purple spray to deter pecking. If that doesn't work, Ukadex is apparently foul smelling and pretty yucky to administer but may do the trick.

 

I'm sure there's more advice which someone will come along with soon .

[theherd123]

The purple spray is Gentian Violet and having just got another set of ex-battery girls last week two of mine have had to have a squirt of it to deter pecking too.

 

I bought mine from the Domestic Fowl Trust.

 

As ANH suggested a weak solution of 2/3 drops of tea tree oil diluted in warm water should do the trick to bathe the sore bits.

 

Keep a close eye on them and if possible let them out to free range for a bit while you watch them - there should be more interesting things in the garden so they shouldnt peck each other too much!

[SueChick]

I have just started using this spray and it does smell rather nasty. Not as bad as some people have said on here though - I was imagining something that really took over the garden but it is not as bad as that. It smells - if you can believe it - like stale old cigarettes! So, except for your chickens smelling like they are on 40 a day, it isn't too bad!!!

 

I don't know if it is working yet as we only started on Thursday but I really hope it does because Nugget finally has some lovely new featherc coming back on her sore bald patches and I really don't want her sister to peck them off in their prime.

 

Hopefully your situation will improve with the purple spray but if it is still a problem maybe you should try Ukadex. (I had no luck with the purple spray - she still got pecked).