Buff has been pecked horribly bad! Need advise on what to do - PLEASE

[macliff]

I have 11 and 6 of them do not have any pecked feathers. The other 5 have been pecked at, some worse then others. I will watch for to see who the most aggesive is then move her/them out to the crate in the garage but first I need to get my Buff healed. He wounds are pretty big and deep. Will the blukot sting her? Is it sprayed? I can't imagince putting it on her now the way she is. Has anyone ever used a chicken apron? I found a pattern for one and was thinking of making one out of old jeans. At this point I will try anything and I have.

 

[macliff]

Thanks for being encouraging!! It breaks my heart to see my Buff so torn up. Her sweet personality hasn't been changed at all. She spent most of the day in the yard free ranging while the others where in the run. She then returned to the crate on her own this afternoon. I am thinking about putting the other hen that has been pecked at (but not as bad) with her. Do you think that would be okay? I will try what you have suggested but can you please tell me what boss and GBS are? Did you try blukot?

 

[bj taylor]

this is such an upsetting issue. my birds were in a brooder that i thought was plenty big enough. one hour everything was fine, next hour three had bloody backsides. i moved them to the coop the next day. it has plenty of vertical challenges (different perches @different heights), a couple of "stumps" to climb over, leaves mixed in with the flake pine bedding. it has space for the hyper ones to do all they want & space for the introverts to be @ peace. for the moment being - all is well.
it's shocking how fast circumstances can change. good luck

 

[fried green eggs]

I have used BluKote for years, it's a staple for farms with animals for cuts and wounds. Putting other hen w/her might be ok if, they have enough room? You need to cover any red skin/blood so they don't pick on each other. Aprons or saddles may help too, see Duct Tape saddle thread.

 

[phalenbeck]

I have put the offender in 'chicken jail' for a week or so on several occasions till she settled down. She is still with the flock, and now has a big rooster to contend with. She spent a good part of a summer in and out of jail--which is a chicken tractor away from the others.

 

[macliff]

Upsetting for sure.... Ugh! Today they are on to a 3rd victim. I put BluKote on the 2 that are still in the coop. There is deffinetly more than 1 hen doing the pecking. At least 3 of them had purple beaks after I applied the BluKote. Do I remove all of them and put them in "chicken jail"? I don't have a lot of room to do this and right now the crate that I would use is being used as a "chicken hospital". This is getting crazy!!! Should have stuck to buying my eggs at the farmers' market.

 

[HiddenBrookAcres]

I am wondering if the time of year has anything to do with it. I am having a similar problem. This is the first time ever and it is stressful. I have a lot of predators around here and can only let them out of the run when I can keep a watchful eye on everyone. Everything from wild animals to neighborhood dogs. The hawks seem to cause the most concern right now. Anyhow, I am seriously contemplating just letting them free range all day despite the predators. First I will try to make the run larger and add more objects to keep them busy. I didn't even think to add suet so I will try that as well.

Good Luck!

 

[Lyssa]

Upsetting for sure.... Ugh! Today they are on to a 3rd victim. I put BluKote on the 2 that are still in the coop. There is deffinetly more than 1 hen doing the pecking. At least 3 of them had purple beaks after I applied the BluKote. Do I remove all of them and put them in "chicken jail"? I don't have a lot of room to do this and right now the crate that I would use is being used as a "chicken hospital". This is getting crazy!!! Should have stuck to buying my eggs at the farmers' market.

Sorry to hear about your troubles. Calendula oil and Tea Tree oil seem to be the yucky ingredients in the Rooster Booster Pick no More. Both would also be healing for any wounds. If you don't have that, I would probably try the Blu Kote and then dab some Tea Tree oil on the wounds with a q-tip. It can be so frustrating, but, don't you just love eating your own eggs?

Keep up the good work.

 

[7L Farm]

Here is an idea.

You can use this poultry lotion on chickens being pecked to stop the pecking. The lotion tastes bad to chickens, so the chickens stop pecking a chicken that has this lotion on its feathers.

http://www.flemingoutdoors.com/rooster-booster-pick-no-more-lotion.html

Not saying this stuff won't work for your chickens but it never worked on mine. Here's the list of what I tried & nothing worked. Pinless Peepers I used these for months didn't work, rooster booster lotion nope, pine tar nope, blu-kote,& many more. I spent over a hundred bucks maybe more. I applied reapplied nothing worked. One bit of advice I can give you is be careful with those lotions & don't get the stuff in your eyes. It will burn your eyes & you will think your going blind. The blu- kote will stain whatever it gets on. Pine tar is very messy.

 

[HiddenBrookAcres]

Upsetting for sure.... Ugh! Today they are on to a 3rd victim. I put BluKote on the 2 that are still in the coop. There is deffinetly more than 1 hen doing the pecking. At least 3 of them had purple beaks after I applied the BluKote. Do I remove all of them and put them in "chicken jail"? I don't have a lot of room to do this and right now the crate that I would use is being used as a "chicken hospital". This is getting crazy!!! Should have stuck to buying my eggs at the farmers' market.

How are your girls doing?

I tried the blu kote and so far it seems to be working. I couldn't pin point the dominant hen so I separated the injured one. I keep her in the crate, in the coop, at night. I don't want them to peck at her while roosting. During the day she is out with the rest of the flock. I let them all free range in the yard but no sooner did I let them out, the red tailed hawk was circling over head. Just trying to give you some positive input. good luck!