jak Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 Hi - just brought home a new layer as one of ours has continually laid softies for weeks now - she seems Ok in herself but no good for our egg supply! I read in my book that you can spray all of them with a plant spray with water and a bit of vinegar in - so they all smell the same and are less likely to fight etc. Anyone got any experience of doing this? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheik Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 (edited) I'm by no means experienced, so take my comments with a due pinch of salt... BUT... I'm pretty sure there have been links posted on here about chicken intelligence, showing that although they're not the smartest of animals, they do have surprisingly good face recognition skills for other birds. So, I would expect newcomers are still going to be bullied even if they smell like the rest of the flock. I have some anecdotal evidence for this too, as our new bantam has been sleeping with the other three for two weeks and is only just starting to get accepted - and she must have picked up a lot of their scent early on. It's possible the vinegar can help in other ways though - as if feathers taste sour, maybe they are less likely to be pulled? Good luck! /\dam Edited September 19, 2008 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 Our breeder also told us to try the vinegar method, he said the key was to spray them all before bed and then put them in together, this way they all smell the same and the old girls cant scent the newness on the new girls! We didnt try it though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jak Posted September 19, 2008 Author Share Posted September 19, 2008 I guess the thing is - it can't HARM to try it can it? Any other ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mot336 Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 I read in my book that you can spray all of them with a plant spray with water and a bit of vinegar in - so they all smell the same and are less likely to fight etc. I must have the same book as you! Yeh, tried it and seemed to work - or maybe they would have got on anyway, but it made me feel better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 Some info **here** about managing intros. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jak Posted September 19, 2008 Author Share Posted September 19, 2008 oh blimey - - we don't have any separate accommodation - I could try putting garden canes through the eglu run to separate that - but newbie will have to just be happy with a box to sleep in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 That should do the trick during the day. Pop her in with them at night after a few days and see how it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jak Posted September 19, 2008 Author Share Posted September 19, 2008 We have just spent the last hour trying to thread canes through and have ended up putting pieces of wood across the bottom half as she kept getting through. I have covered her half of the run entirely with the winter cover, summer cover and a towel so she feels cosy. She doesn't seem to want to go inthe box with straw. Ohwell, sure I will be up at the crack of dawn nervously checking it all out ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
