Prolapsed vent - am I getting it right?

[koo2cat]

We have had our girls since March and love them to bits and really enjoy the eggs they dutifully lay for us. However, since the start we have had one hen (Hetty) who pecks the others. We have tried all the usual habit breakers, water spraying, solitary confinement, Ukadex spray. Ukadex works but as soon as the smell wears off, she starts at them again and she manages to find feathers somewhere else that haven't been sprayed. We came home having been out all day on Sunday to find one hen bleeding slightly and the others looking rather dishevelled. We sprayed them again but the trouble is it smells so awful that going anywhere near the hens or their run after we have used it is impossible without wearing a gas mask!!! Not to mention spraying them in the first place which is an ordeal for the hens and us!

 

I haven't tried bumper bits as I really don't think I could fit one being a novice and my husband thinks going to that extreme is ridiculous.

 

So... should we get rid of her? We love getting 4 eggs a day being a family of 5 and I would hate her to be dispatched as she is a beautiul hen. But she is taking all the fun out of hen keeping for us and making life pretty miserable for the other 3 hens. Plus we are going away soon for 4 days and I don't want to leave someone else with the problem. All the other hens also look terrible where they have been constantly sprayed and pecked and our eggs smell of Ukadex!!

 

What to do?????

[quickcluck]

what a horrid dilemma.....

 

I think you've nothing to lose by trying the bits.... I wonder if you dont try those before moving Hetty on, you'll feel like you didn't try everything..... apparently they come the very next day in the post.....

 

Sorry I am not much help, but someone willbe..

[Egluntyne]

Why does your husband think bumper bits are an extreme I wonder?

 

They are a recognised method of dealing with the problem.

 

You can get them from the Wernlas Collection for the price of a couple of stamps. Give them a ring.

 

It might be enough to snap her out of her bad habit, and most importantly, will safeguard the other hens.

 

Your other option is to put her in solitary for a week or so, and then reintroduce her to the flock. She will not be top hen then and might have learned some manners.

[stoice]

I have the same issue as you koo2cat.

2 ex-batts and two younger ones at about 20wks.

Gladys (ex-batt) pecked Babs' botty till it bled - everywhere! (she's an ex-batt too) I wondered if it was because she's a little bald 'down there' and it became too tempting. Had her in solitary for a while until she recovered but I noticed the new girls getting beaten up a lot too (apart from usual pecking order stuff) Gladys always goes for bums!!

So now I have Gladys on her own and has been for about a week, they all free range together but i have Gladys in her own section. I have since found that the new girls and Babs get on really well. Yesterday i put Gladys in with them on the lawn and all three got their bums picked!

Tried anti peck spray, tried solitary, Next step is a bumper bit.

Hope it works

[Chooks Aloud]

No do not get rid of her. I have one who persistenly pulls feathers out of the others. We use bumper bits and it does the job. I had 2 new girls come to me as well, one of them, also a speckaldy has a liking for feathers. She too got a bumper bit put on.

 

Once they wear off, I warn them both that if they behave they will not have another bit put back on. Hetty (the newbie) has been very good and so has not had hers put back, but Darla, my original Omlet chook just loves the feathers too much to resist. She now has a bit on again.

 

Once you have done it, it's easy to fit. I can now do it single handedly - although it is much easier to have two - one holding the bird and one fitting.

 

Soak the bit in hot water to make it more pliable. Wrap the chook up in a towel. Put the chook on your lap with your arm on top to stop her struggling. Put the bit, prongs on top of her beak and the bit through her beak. They will move their head to try and get away, but they also open their beak as well - quickly put the bit in and push the prongs down into the nostrils.

 

It's not very nice doing it as you think it's hurting them - but it also hurts the birds who are getting pecked.

 

Forgot to mention - I clean the beak just with warm water, then put the bit on, then I clean again with cotton wool dipped in warm water and t-tree oil.

 

Get a bumper bit fitted this could be the solution you're looking for and then you'll be glad you kept her.

 

Karen

[LJ's Chooks]

I have bumper bits on all my girls at the moment after a nasty incident. You may all think this is harsh, but it is the only way we maintain a level of calm with our girls.

 

They are easy to fit as long as there are two people, a towel and hot water to heat up the bits so they are soft. Believe me this saves a great deal of heart ache and is less cruel than allowing pecking to continue.

[koo2cat]

Thank you all for your replies and advice. Looks like bumper bits it is then. I know they do seem to do the trick, it is just fitting it that makes me nervous. I will give Wernlas a call this afternoon to get some. I have a friend down the road who keeps chickens so maybe she will be willing to give me a hand fitting it if DH won't!

 

By the way, I do already have an anti-peck ring from Wildfowl Trust, are bumper bits better?

[stoice]

Just called Wernlas.

 

Bumper bits cost 10p each. Just send a self addressed stamped envelope with the equivalent cost in 1st class stamps. I'm going to get a few and include a few stamps.

 

Not sure if anti peck rings are different though, sorry. Have you read this?

 

http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12641

[E4eggs]

Don't worry, I'd only had my girls about two and a half weeks when I fitted two of them with bumper bits. I was terrified, but I fitted them with the help of a neighbour (couldn't wait until evening when OH was due in from work). My neighbour is not a "pet person" but gamely helped wearing a pair of leather driving gloves and clutching the bullies in a towel (think Margot from The Good Life). Life has been so much better since (three months on). Haven't looked back. Good luck.

[Gallina]

There is nothing extreme about using a bumper bit. When I had four hens delivered from Wernlas by courier, they had bumper bits fitted as a precaution in case they pecked each other on the journey.

 

I have eight hens without bumper bits at the moment, but I have some spares at the ready in case I have to use them again. Everyone should keep them in stock, as it takes a while to get them if you need them in an emergency.

 

It isn't difficult to put them on, but you have to be firm and remember the bad things the hen in question has done. The prongs have to go properly in the nostrils. She will get used to the bit in an hour, and not notice it any more.

[GEB]

I had a problem with one of my hens pulling feathers and consequently fitted her with an anti peck ring. I hated using it, but kept it on for three weeks before taking it off. Interestingly it seems to have completly changed her place in the pecking order, even though I'm certain this wasn't a pecking order issue. She hasn't pulled any feathers since even though she has been ring free for about 3 months now. I'd definatly recommend it rather than getting rid of her.