Pinless peepers keep falling off.

I ordered a bunch of pinless peepers from Ebay. We put them on some of our flock and installed them correctly. Many of the birds through several days manage to get them off. I'm really trying here to not debeak but I am getting very close to having to. I don't know of another solution ATM and would like advice to get them to stay on. I can't imagine the nostril torture the birds went through to get them off.

they have white things that go in their beak and I can't think of the name of them but they apparently work good because I haven't heard of them falling off, they are like a white ring that goes under their upper beak.

The rings are called beak bits.

Which birds have been getting the peepers off? Small-beaked ones, large-beaked ones...?

Sutremaine said:

The rings are called beak bits.

Which birds have been getting the peepers off? Small-beaked ones, large-beaked ones...?

Click to expand...

Thanks I couldn't think of the name.

All of my breeds are getting them off. Wyandottes, Leghorns, buffs, RIR's... I think what the problem is - is that I tried to save a buck and ordered some that shipped from China. Okay, I believe that some stuff from China is good and some junk, but woe is me, I didn't pay close attention to one detail.

The one on the China ad (100 for $10) looked just fine. I figured it was just hard plastic. These are ones with Chinese (or Mandarin) type of letters on the peepers. Looking closely at the ad, they say they are made out of "Polyethylene" and it says (harmless to chickens). Sweet I though. Cheap. China. Plastic is simple.

Well I found out plastic is not so simple. I figured "well on something like this the concept is simple enough and China probably understands chickens".

They are actually pretty hard plastic.... but... They fall off. I didn't see how it could be a design problem as they were definitely going in the nostrils deep and definitely fitting.

I don't think it was a design problem.


Looking further into it I realized that the PLASTIC is the difference. On many sites selling peepers in America it states they are made out of Polypropylene.

Poly what?

Chinese = Polyethylene
Main sites = Polypropylene

The difference, polyethylene is a softer plastic and polypropylene is a stiffer plastic.

I know it looks stupid and all, but typically I skim read and don't pay attention to details like plastic types. Plus the words look incredibly similar..... Also, who REALLY knows the difference when they see plastic types that?

But there sure is a difference.

I have 100 polyPROPylene peepers (the stiffer plastic) coming in the mail. I will let everybody know and hopefully get photos of the results.

I believe what is happening is when the roos breed the hens or the hens rub up against a post/tree, some of them push a bit hard and bend the little "nostril pin" just enough to wriggle out. If it was a bit stiffer plastic, they would not be able to bend them.