Unsecure chicken perches

[Luvachicken]

Poor Phoebe. All winter Poppy left her alone. Then recently the feather pecking had started. I was quick on the ball and sprayed straight away with Ukadex, this seemed to work for a while and things were going well, and fed up of stinking my self, used Johnson's anti-peck as this seems to smell a bit less. This worked too and I thought I had cracked it - I did - but not for long

Poppy was back to her old tricks and over just the last 2 days has pecked Phoebe's bottom bare.

 

I feel guilty for letting this happen - but Poppy hadn't pecked for ages.

It seems like Phoebe is the one being punished, being cornered and then sprayed. She looks like she has been in an oil disaster.

 

Can I spray her with Ukadex every other day ? I'm sure its meant to last 3-5 days though.

 

If I resort to a bumper bit is there a chicken friend out there who can help me put it on. I find the thought quite scary and wouldn't want to put it in wrong. Also do you need small ones for bantams ?

 

Any advice for me please ................

[Cheeky Chooky]

Haven't got anything useful to say I'm afraid but didn't want to read and run Hope someone comes along to help you soon

[mollyripkim]

Don't feel guilty, sounds like you are doing all you can. Sorry no advice either as it's something I haven't come across yet but hopefully someone will come along soon with some advice.

[poppers77]

Must be the time of year as our gwinnie has patches on her neck again after spending last summer knickerless and naked necked! I've kept a bumps bit on flow ever since. If you get the cirlclip pliers the whole thing is so much easier but I agree a little scary. If you don't find someone closer i can talk up -through it.( we are in Winchester. I find best to wrap in towel and sit with her on your lap so someone else can fit? They soon get used to them and although we recommend suffering again it may be Hyacinth this time so we could be fitting another one.

The other thing is to check it for lice and mites as we had both last year which contributed to the bare bottoms. I treat more regularly now and have just tried 'd- mite' in the house. Sorry, I'm not sure if that's much help.

[The Dogmother]

You have to be careful to stick to the dosage with the anti-peck products.

 

I'd recommend fitting a bumper bit before she hits blood and there's a nasty wound.

[Salop Chuck]

I had a problem with bullying and feather pecking last year and it was horrible to see it happening and very challenging to deal with. In the end I separated the bully from the rest of the flock to give the vicim of bullying a chance to recover. I have only a small garden so it took some lateral thinking to divide it up so that all the hens had enough space. I made sure the bully slept on her own (she hated that) and kept this regime up for nearly a fortnight. I really had to harden my heart to keep this up and it paid off in the end because when I reintroduced the bully back into the flock (lower down the pecking order) the bullying didn't start up again and peace has reigned for several months since then.

 

If you haven't got an extra coop, you can substitute with large cat carrier with a cover over it and place it in a shed or garage for security overnight. Hope this helps. Good luck with resolving your problem.

[Luvachicken]

Thanks everyone for your replies. It is much appreciated.

 

I think the bumper bit may be the way to go and I hadn't thought of wrapping the culprit up in a towel.

This worked well when I had to give Myrtle medicine last year.

 

The only thing I don't know is if I need a different sized bumper bit for her or does one size fit all ?

 

What I find scary is their little face up close and whether I can put it in the wrong place. I think that scary Emu from Rod Hull is what frightens me and my brain kind of thinks a chicken is a bit like that up close - although I love my chickens dearly and they are nothing like Emu.

[The Dogmother]

The normal bumper bits will fit your average hybrid hen, it will need softening in a cup of hot water first.

[Luvachicken]

Ok, silly question time - is a Bantam a hybrid hen ?

I only had gingernuts and a pepperpot before and they were hybrids.

[The Dogmother]

Do you have a bantam (sorry, not read back through the thread) if you do then you'll need to get a smaller bumper bit.

[Luvachicken]

Yes, I have Bantam Wyandottes ....so does that mean I need to get something else in the post pretty ASAP.

[Luvachicken]

We are going away for the w'end so I'll have to order it and the circlips right now and hope it arrives before I go on Friday afternoon.

 

I have bought them 2 cabbages, a peck block and some other stuff to keep them busy.

[The Dogmother]

Yes, you'll need a smaller bumper bit for a bantam. TBH it's really unusual to get any bullying with bantams so I'd look at the space available in your run to make sure that you have at least 1msq per bird.

[Luvachicken]

The area they have is big enough I think.

I think it is about 9 metres by about 2 and I have 4 chickens.

 

They have a mud pit to dig in and a gravel area as well as their run itself.

[Luvachicken]

Dogmother do you know what size bumpa bit to get .

Omlet only have one size and that is 25 mm.

[The Dogmother]

That's the larger size for hybrid hens, The Domestic Fowl Trust used to have them but I'm sure that a quick google will throw up other suppliers.

[Luvachicken]

The ones I've found don't say a size

They are on ebay.

[The Dogmother]

Most gamekeeper supply places will stock them. I just had a quick look at the DFT site and they've stopped stocking the smaller one.

[Luvachicken]

Thank you Dogmother, you have been very kind trying to help me.

 

Maybe I will just have to persevere with the Ukadex then. Trouble is my Ukadex doesn't have any English on it so it doesn't really say how often to do it.

Poppy has been good today I think. She doesn't seem to have pecked Phoebe at all - but then that's not surprising with the amount of stuff on her.

 

Do you think you can train a chicken like a dog, in that when a dog is naughty you drop a tin can with something shaky in it and they gradually get put off what they are doing ?

Maybe I could try that too.

[The Dogmother]

Water pistols or a squeezy bottle of water always helps.

Try the NetTex anti-peck spray - same as Ukadex but the instructions are in English

[Luvachicken]

Thank you again, there is not much of my aerosol left so I will get some of that one like you have suggested.

 

And perhaps I'll look for a water pistol too

[The Dogmother]

They are really easy to train and she should get the message soon.

[Chortle Chook]

Dogmother and luvachicken - just in case you feel like you have been having a one to one exchange on the forum, I wanted to say that your requests for help luvachicken and your answers, Dogmother, have been very good learning. I've copied it down in case I should find myself in a similar position ever. Thank you both

 

P.S. I love the title of this post. Made me laugh.

[Bantambabe]

The bumpa bits have stopped my Rose from actually bleeding from "attacks" but I have noticed this week that the other naughty girls have again started going for feathers and she is again getting balder by the day.

 

So they do stop them breaking the skin, but they seem to be able to get enough grip on the feathers to pull.

 

Rose doesn't seem too bothered now she's not actually being eaten alive so I've decided not to worry about it (and never buy pepperpots again - never had anything like this with my light sussex banties)

[The Dogmother]

If your hen is wearing a bumper bit it shouldn't be able to grip a feather and pluck it.