Cinnamon Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 Hmmmmmmmmmmm - I have a pecker in my flock Trouble is,which hen is it? I have spied on them for ages & seen nothing,so can only assume it is going on at night time in the Cube. Ruling out the 2 pecked hens plus Clover who is to old & wobbly to do much more than potter around,I have 3 potential candidates. I thought I was being clever last night when I 'purpled up' the peckees,thinking I would catch someone with a purple beak & a guilty expression this morning,but nothing So,does anyone have any ideas on what I can do to find out which of the 3 suspects is the pecker? Or should I just start rotating Bumpa bits? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 They aren't cramped, 6 in a cube, so its not that! Is anyone moulting? Its usually a protein deficiency that causes feather pecking 'cos feathers are 80% protein so it could be that she's trying to build up her own protein that way. Also have they been wormed? 'Cos worms will take protein from their systems. We usually find at work there is a problem which causes the father pecking. Worming them with Flubenvet and putting them on a good quality feed, like Smallholder range, sorts the problems If not beak bits/bumpa bits might be the way to go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted November 24, 2011 Author Share Posted November 24, 2011 Well Evil Weed is moulting,& she is my main suspect anyhow. It is my Blue Bell who is getting the brunt of it. She is now a fetching shade of lavender with pink baldy bits The bits that are not purple are brown from that vile anti peck stuff. She is also the lowest in the pecking order anyhow..... They have been wormed & Eprinexed, & as you say,they have plenty of space too. I will treat them again next week when I have more Holiday hens arriving (so I am not short of eggs), but in the meantime I think I will Bumpa Weed & see if things improves for poor Violet & Rhubarb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 Hope it works! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimmyCustard Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 I had the same problem - as you know! I spoke to the lady that runs The Hencam in Boston and she suggested placing a strip of duct tape over the pecked place, not on the bare skin but on the feathers that are left. Eventually, as the new feathers grow in, the tape loses its sticky and drops off. I tried it and whilst the pecking didn't stop, it did puzzle the pecker a bit and the red patch was protected! I have also read that corn can act like 'e' numbers do to some children by making them a little crazy and make some breeds of hen more prone to pecking. I have stopped all corn (dried and fresh) and I must say that both Black Rock tail bases now have feathers coming back. My culprit is Bubbles (a Bluebelle) and she still gets the odd tug in, but not on a par at all as before. I've also started giving them a tin of tuna twice a week to up the protein intake, it all seems to be helping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted November 26, 2011 Author Share Posted November 26, 2011 I think I would have to quite literally wrap poor old Vi up totally in tape to cover her baldy bits Might try it on her & Rhubarbs bottoms though.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elaine-chick Posted November 26, 2011 Share Posted November 26, 2011 Hi Cinnamon ... 1 of my girls (Doris) started pecking 2 of the others a few weeks ago now. It was awful - Elsie came off the worst with quite a nasty wound on her vent and Gert (who was a bit poorly with her moult) did try to fend her off. Anyway to cut a long story short and after trying separation in different ways, I had to resort to a bumper bit I felt (and still do feel) very cruel. but I couldn't let her carry on like that. It's all settled now but I'm leaving the bumper bit on Doris until Elsie has got some more protective feathers around her vent (Gert now seems to be getting over her moult). Doris does seem to have got used to the bit very quickly although I do have to give her her sunflower seeds out of a cup rather than off the ground Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
