cluckfest Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 I am new to chicken keeping and have had my six new bantams for two weeks now, and one of them, a lavender Araucana started pecking her chest almost immediately and seems to encourage the others to have a go as well. I have treated her with anti-pecking spray which she seems to consider is a tasty dressing to add to the feast. Is there anything else I can use? I have tried some purple spray, but doubt it tastes very bad, although it has given her a very pretty two tone look Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surf_space Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 The purple spray is to disguise the sore patch or blood and to stop other chickens pecking at her, its not the taste that would put them off in this case, its the colour. I'm sorry I'm not really sure on anything else you could try, but I'm sure someone will be along shortly who will give some better advice. The causes of her pecking could be the stress of moving, or boredom. Do they have a variety of things to keep them occupied in their run? e.g. Some branches to perch on, potted plants to hide in, veg hung to peck at? These are good boredom killers and she may start pecking at a cabbage instead of herself! Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zakjon-98 Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 I agree she could be bored. If it gets too bad or she starts feather pecking other chickens badly you could consider a fitting a bumpa bit which helps stop this. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cluckfest Posted September 10, 2012 Author Share Posted September 10, 2012 The purple spray is to disguise the sore patch or blood and to stop other chickens pecking at her, its not the taste that would put them off in this case, its the colour. I'm sorry I'm not really sure on anything else you could try, but I'm sure someone will be along shortly who will give some better advice. It has done a good job of disguising the sore patch and seems harder than the anti-peck to rub off onto the other chooks. I didn't expect it to do much taste wise, but wasn't prepared to try it myself to confirm! The causes of her pecking could be the stress of moving, or boredom. Do they have a variety of things to keep them occupied in their run? e.g. Some branches to perch on, potted plants to hide in, veg hung to peck at? These are good boredom killers and she may start pecking at a cabbage instead of herself! She seems to do most of the damage during the night, and we can sometimes tell where she was in the coop by the feathers. They have the opportunity to FR most of the day with access to the run/food and have settled into the routine of garden destruction duties with sun/dustbathing and naps (they are only 14 weeks old). They have branches to perch on in the run, but tend to ignore any food hanging when they are in the run. In fact apart from live maggots it has been very difficult to find anything they are really keen on (apart from their growers pellets), they are only just getting a taste for mixed corn on its own, (I think that is because they got the flavour of the maize the maggots were mixed with). They are moved onto fresh grass every day and would rather eat that and bugs when they are confined. She is in the middle of the pecking order, and the head hen is currently being challenged for top spot, so perhaps that combined with the move is unsettling her. How long does it take for them to feel at home? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hopingforchickens Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 I second bumpa bits, I've had a long standing problem with mine pecking each other, the only thing that has fixed it is bumpas. After 2 weeks of having them fitted and some tuna and supplements their feathers are growing back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cluckfest Posted September 10, 2012 Author Share Posted September 10, 2012 Thanks very much for the advice. Will a standard bumpa bit fit a 14 week old bantam Araucana? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 I think it will be too big. In fact, generally bumpabits are too big for full sized bantams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
