| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| mikesgirl |
Posted - Feb 04 2009 : 5:37:04 PM
My dd and her bf are new chicken "parents" and they have a big problem maybe you can help them with. They raised 5 Wyandots (sp?) amd 5 Aracaunas from baby chicks and have babied them all along the way, but lately some of the chickens have been jumping on the other ones and picking their feathers out. They tried spraying them with some sort of mite stuff, supplementing their diet, etc. but it only seems to be getting worse. This week Pete has been watching and it seems like the Aracaunas are the aggressive ones. Anyone have any insight into this and what they can do short of butchering the Aracaunas? If they have to do that, they will be heartbroken - they baby those chickens like they are children!
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| marcy jo |
Posted - Mar 30 2009 : 11:03:43 AM
Thanks for the advice. I spent the weekend trying various things. Checking often for eggs, hanging foil toys from the top of the coop (when I put those up I think they certified me looney) gave them some cat chow, gave them some hay and threatened death to the roosters!! So this morning I found 3 intact eggs!!! I will keep a close eye on the girls for now but plan on building them a new coop in the next month or so!!!
Marcy #257
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| idsweetie72 |
Posted - Mar 28 2009 : 10:21:57 AM
I hope that since I started with all of mine together I don't have that problem- I don't know what I would do! One thing though that I remember from growing up is that we would save the eggshells, dry them, then crumble them up for the chickens to peck at- and since I have one duck that is laying- I do that with her shells, and the store bought eggs- so maybe that is helping as well.-
Good luck with the happy hens!
Mazy Day Farm |
| twzlrwho |
Posted - Mar 28 2009 : 07:32:27 AM
This is all such great advice! Thanks for this post. My chicks are a bit young, but this will come in handy when they are older. I already have a rotten little roo at 4 wks of age is on "death row" lol. He is already really agressive towards the others. I have tried all of the above and so far I haven't had much luck. He is in solitary confinement...LOL. That's all I know to do after everything else failed. Good Luck! My fingers are crossed for you. Hugs
 Christina
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| StasiaSpins |
Posted - Mar 27 2009 : 7:41:38 PM
Suggestions:
You can take them out and re-introduce them to each other one at a time to re-establish a new pecking order.
The pecking ointment (pine tar) works very well.
Keep anyone pecked away from the others as long as they are bald or bloody. Re-introduce them to the other chickens in a separate area one at a time before turning them loose. Do so late in the evening before turning out the coop lights for the night.
Less light in the coop.
More fresh air in the coop.
When you put in an "entertainment" of scraps, put in more than one pile. Leafy greens are excellent and keep them well-occupied.
Have more than one feeder and waterer! They get territorial about those.
We never add supplements to our water; they can spoil easily, and we feed organic ration.
Try adding some diatomaceous earth to their feed on a regular basis, in case internal parasites are bothering them and making them testy.
marcy jo, once you have an egg eater, it will teach the others to eat eggs, practically as soon as they're laid. Best to cull the culprit immediately. It can't be un-learned. Chickens just love eggs once they get a taste of them. If you have any broken eggs, remove them from the area immediately. Collect eggs more than once or twice a day.
A well-balanced layer ration should provide all the protein your adult chickens need. But I have read about the high-protein cat food "remedy," too.
We had a batch of brain-dead hybridized white meat chickens that came free once with an order of our heritage breeds; they were the MOST aggressive chickens I have EVER seen and tried to kill each other before they were old enough to butcher. They were very stupid compared to the heritage ("unimproved") breeds, too. I'd never raise them again - not for free, not if you PAID me! Spent so much time chasing one another around the barnyard they never put on any weight! ;)
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| marcy jo |
Posted - Mar 27 2009 : 11:37:00 AM
So if the chickens are bored or need protein would that explain why they are pecking the snot out of my eggs??? I literally had to beat them off of the 1st egg today and they got to the second one before I could. My roosters are the ones who seem to start the whole show. They are on death row anyway and will soon be walking the "Green Mile"!
Marcy #257
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| farmchick4 |
Posted - Mar 27 2009 : 05:15:14 AM
Well, I have 6 Rhode Island Reds. 4 are birds that I've had since hatchlings.(4-08) In Oct 08 I added two more Reds to them and it was fairly uneventful, just the normal pecking order business going on.
Last week I purchased two more birds and they are Ameracaunas, one silver & one red. My old Reds seem to hate the silver one. They will seek her out and just sit and peck her. And she's got such a docile personality she just takes it. So I've had them seperated but together in the same housing. Last night I had them all spend the night together and she's missing quite a few feathers on her back so I seperated her and her friend from the old reds. I feel like I've tried all the solutions that I've researched with no luck. All this is further complicated by the weather we've been having with flooding and blizzards, they can't get out.
I guess I was lucky adding birds the first time and didn't expect such agression this time. Is it the different breed or color? They seem to leave the red ameracauna alone aside from the normal pecking order squabbles. |
| gspringman |
Posted - Feb 12 2009 : 08:48:57 AM
My hens did the same thing but I purchased some hen pecking ointment and put it on the spots they pecked and it seemed to help. Also try hanging your fruit or veggie so they have to reach a little to peck at it. It's a real treat for them. I also use a red lite in the coop which is suppose to help keep the pecking down. Good luck.
Gail |
| deeredawn |
Posted - Feb 06 2009 : 07:37:40 AM
According to what I tell my customers, other things to be aware of are...
stress, feed defincies (calcium? Vitamin D? more protein?) illness, and boredom. Othet than givng them a small tv set to watch, try leafy green hay for them to scratch and peck at. Other things to peck at would include shiny cat toys hungs from the ceiling of coop. Pie tins, a head of cabbage/lettuce. Chickens like to stay active. I personally dont think its the personality of an ameracauna/aracuana if they have enough to do. I'd also put a vitamin supp in water... and extra protein. A small handful of dry cat food, once or twice a week should fufill their protein intake.
Dawn #279
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| SheilaC |
Posted - Feb 06 2009 : 07:21:34 AM
our araucanas are actually the ones in our bunch that get pecked the most. . . |
| Haven |
Posted - Feb 06 2009 : 07:14:34 AM
I am new here and so have less "experience than a lot of you, but when we had trouble with the chickens that was similar someone told me if the protein level might be low to throw them a handful of dried catfood.
We do it every few days now and have not had anyone pecking on anyone else since the first couple days.
This is not recommended as a "regular" diet but as an occasional "treat"
The chickens are so happy to see me come with their "treat" and come running. It sure doesn't last long.
Just maybe this thought will help someone else.
Though for a time I had "chicken flavored" catfood and it was kinda weird to watch them enjoy it so much!! |
| K-Falls Farmgirl |
Posted - Feb 05 2009 : 7:11:41 PM
They sure do.. One of mine is really a loner. She certainly holds her own though in the pecking order when she wants what another one has..They are so funny to watch,.
Cheryl
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| mikesgirl |
Posted - Feb 04 2009 : 6:42:53 PM
They have a roomy house and a pen about 20 x 20 that he lets them into every day. They are also always throwing something in their pen for them to peck at. Last week she bought a big winter squash and cut it in half and threw it in there - I don't know what it is, but it's pretty heart breaking!
Farmgirl Sister #98
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| Alee |
Posted - Feb 04 2009 : 5:55:23 PM
How big are their quarters? Perhaps they need more room and more things to peck and scratch at?
Alee
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