auntielizzie Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 Bit of background first: I started off with two chickens - Betty and Bessie. They were a lovely pair and got on really well; I think maybe Bessie had the slight edge in the top hen department, but they got along just fine. After about a year or so I introduced three new chickens (Betsy, Bertha and Mrs Beaky). Although after a very slow introduction they all got on quite well, they were still in two distinct groups, Betty and Bessie as a pair and the other three in a group of three. Mrs Beaky is the top hen in the group of three. When Betty died, Bessie became top hen overall, but Beaky remained top hen of the group of three. Beaky has always pecked particularly little Betsy (her bottom mainly); also she has pecked Bertha, but not so much (her bottom a bit, but mainly her neck). Betsy and Bertha have never really had many feathers on their bottoms as a result More recently Beaky has taken to eating her eggs as well Just this morning she was in the nest box, only to emerge carrying the broken egg and then eating the contents as they spilt all over the floor I'm thinking either I could try putting a pottery egg in to stop the egg eating, or should I try a bumpa bit to try and solve both problems in one or are bumpa bits more or a last resort to use in more serious bullying situations (ie, are they a bit cruel?). What would anyone else do in this situation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia W Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 For the egg eating, try blowing an egg and filling it with mustard- that usually works! Bumpa bits do stop feather pecking but have you tried anti-peck spray first? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auntielizzie Posted November 17, 2013 Author Share Posted November 17, 2013 Thanks for the reply Patricia W - I haven't tried anti-peck spray...is there a good one that you would recommend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia W Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 The best is vile but it does work - most of the time! It's Ukadex. I've hidden it away as it smells so vile - like 30 ashtrays left to moulder for a year. To use it, you find a VERY GOOD AND UNDERSTANDING FRIEND to either hold the victim or to spray ( they usually opt to hold as they think this is the easy bit, but at the end they are no longer very good and understanding friends!). You both either take all your clothes off, or wear things you can throw away. Put on marigolds and then - spray - and stand back. Be warned that if your hen is white it comes out brown. The Johnson's one you can easily buy was useless for me. Only Ukadex has ever worked - but I have no friends left ..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
