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

[tigerbunnyacres]

Please can someone help me!

 

I have three chickens. They were all living happily together until I found Jinx up on the roosting bars with what looked like a prolapse. I took advice from the forum, bathed her and put honey on it. After a few days isolation she went back in with the others and all seemed well for a few weeks, she was laying again and seemed fine.

 

Two days ago she is again up on the roosting bars - she is the only one who can get up there, she had blood all over her back end and the others were trying to peck at her rear. I isolated her again for a few days, bathed her and just put them all back together again this evening. They were all fine when free ranging outside but when I put them back into the run they were in there for five minutes before they pecked at Jinx's back end again, making it all bloody with only about two pecks. She is now back in chicken hospital. Her back end was fine before they pecked it this evening and I am wondering if there is anything I can do to stop this.

 

I hope to get some advice as am fretting about Jinx and was feeling so positive after the initial upset which seemed to be all sorted.

 

Yours hopefully...

[quickcluck]

Can you put some purple spray on it????

 

If they are intent on pecking her you could try ukadex, but am not sure that will be enough, you may need bumper bits from

 

www.wernlas.com

 

You send an SAE with some stamps in and they send them to you by return post!!!

[Redwing]

Has she prolapsed again? if not I would say clean it up and spray with purple spray, the redness would make the others want to peck at it so you need to cover any red with the spray (or blue food colouring is apparently good

 

if there are any significant injuries keep her separate until they heal

[Abbey Road Girl]

Spray with the purple spray as advised by others as a first step. Then, as also recommended above, fit bumper bits. Wish I'd done it ages ago. Like baking bread, it is really very easy IF you follow a few simple rules.

 

(1) Although others have had success doing it on their own, it's really a two person operation (less stressful for all concerned). One person should hold the hen (good idea to wrap them in a towel) and hold its neck steady.

 

(2) You need the right type of circlip pliers. They don't look like pliers, by the way, but straight round prongs. Get the ones where the ends are straight not reflex (bent over). The ends of the pliers must spread out when you squeeze the handles together. My son got the right kind at Halfords (after getting the reflex ones which require two hands and merely shoot the bits across the room). With the right tool you can widen the bit out using only one hand.

 

(3) To widen the bumper bit, insert the plier prongs into the holes on either side of the wide end of the black plastic bit.

 

(4) With one hand, open the hen's beak and insert the widened bumper bit so it fits inside her mouth, narrow end to the front. Then fit the hooks at the wider end into the hen's nostrils. Check to see if it's a secure fit (one of mine managed to get hers off, but the others were fine). It should only take a minute or two: mission accomplished!

 

You should end up with chickens which somewhat resemble ducks (only if you look closely, they are not easily detected on a chicken with a darkish beak) as instead of a pointy beak, there is a wider, rounded surround.

 

Mine don't like being held but they were very good. My son and I waited until they were well dozy on the roosting bars and took them out one at a time.

 

So far, so good! It's a big relief not to worry about them possibly harming (even killing) each other after drawing blood.

 

Best of luck, tigerbunny!

[LJ's Chooks]

definitely get some bumper bits... wernlas are great and the domestic fowl trust do an alternate that im trying, but not convinced it's as good.

 

If you put the bits in boiling water, they soften slightly too and make it a little easier to get them on, take them out with a spoon after the other person has the chook caught and wrapped.

[stoice]

I think bumpa bits and ukadex should really help.

 

I wish I'd caught the pecking on my Betty earlier as the other girls had pecked her so badly she had to be PTS on tuesday . This was out of the blue though so ukadex wasn't an option as she had open wounds (Wait until your chook has healed as Ukadex is like a spray on tar and coats the feathers - or baldy bits - with a fine coating of stinky brown droplets) It does work... but you won't want to cuddle her for a while . Bumpa bits didn't work on my de-beaked ex-batt Gladys last year when she was a pecker because she has a very stubby beak and couldn't eat but it'll work fine on any other bird. If you can get them on. I'm going to buy some circlip pliers, as ARGirl has suggested, ready on stand by in case I get any more naughtiness.

[chickencam]

I am another who will recommend bumper bits and purple spray. They don't work on beak clipped birds but are great on all others. You can get them on without pliers I just get my Hubby to hold the hen firmly and hold her neck steady then if you put the flat cross piece of the 'A' shaped bit into her beak first with the prongs of the bit pointing slightly upwards towards her top beak then pull the prongs open and put them into each nostril.

 

Mine have worn bits for about 18months 2 of them have lost theirs at the moment so i am keeping a close eye on things but all is well so far. I am hoping that the habit has been broken.