Functional Chickens
In the Brooder
My students and I have 7 chickens. We have three coops.
- 2 silkies in a small coop ... plenty of room, and they get along great.
- 2 slikie/Polish in a medium coop ... plenty of room, and they get along great.
The silkie/Polish and silkies get along great.
- 3 standard sized hens, 2 buff orpingtons and 1 barred rocks, in a medium sized coop with attached run, about 40 square feet. They have plucked each others butts raw.
This is what I have done:
- increased protein with meal worms, scrambled eggs, black sunflower seeds, kelp ... they like it, but not enough to stop picking at each other.
- increased obstacles and "fun" in run ... they like the fun logs and bells, but not enough to stop picking at each other.
- Used BlueKote spray... they hate it, have horrible purple butts, but not enough to stop picking at each other.
- Used Tea Tree oil ... this made it worse, as they seemed to like the taste!
- Use Pine Tar .. no changes, and they still picked at each other.
- I isolated the perpetrator ... they still have red butts. It seems as though they are taking turns being a bully.
- I isolated the victim with the worst butt ... she gets better, the others get worse.
- I let them free range in a pen 20' x 20' x 18'. I put clutter in the yard. I hid treats in various places to keep them amused ... but not enough to stop picking at each other.
- I spray them for mites, and spray their pen and coop for mites, clean their coops.
- I created a bath of diatomaceous earth for them AND the other sweet hens.
These ladies are wonderful around my students with severe disabilities. They are HORRIBLE around each other. I actually am not letting the smaller hens free range now for fear they will get pecked. Getting rid of them is not an option as each chicken has a special relationship with my students.
I am OUT OF IDEAS!!! And my students (who visit the chickens almost every day at a socially distant way) are worried. I AM WORRIED. Yikes.
Do any of you wonderful chicken lovers have any ideas? I am open to anything. In fact, I have peepers, but am reluctant to use them ... will they hurt the chickens? They are still laying. Looking forward to hearing some ideas.
- 2 silkies in a small coop ... plenty of room, and they get along great.
- 2 slikie/Polish in a medium coop ... plenty of room, and they get along great.
The silkie/Polish and silkies get along great.
- 3 standard sized hens, 2 buff orpingtons and 1 barred rocks, in a medium sized coop with attached run, about 40 square feet. They have plucked each others butts raw.
This is what I have done:
- increased protein with meal worms, scrambled eggs, black sunflower seeds, kelp ... they like it, but not enough to stop picking at each other.
- increased obstacles and "fun" in run ... they like the fun logs and bells, but not enough to stop picking at each other.
- Used BlueKote spray... they hate it, have horrible purple butts, but not enough to stop picking at each other.
- Used Tea Tree oil ... this made it worse, as they seemed to like the taste!
- Use Pine Tar .. no changes, and they still picked at each other.
- I isolated the perpetrator ... they still have red butts. It seems as though they are taking turns being a bully.
- I isolated the victim with the worst butt ... she gets better, the others get worse.
- I let them free range in a pen 20' x 20' x 18'. I put clutter in the yard. I hid treats in various places to keep them amused ... but not enough to stop picking at each other.
- I spray them for mites, and spray their pen and coop for mites, clean their coops.
- I created a bath of diatomaceous earth for them AND the other sweet hens.
These ladies are wonderful around my students with severe disabilities. They are HORRIBLE around each other. I actually am not letting the smaller hens free range now for fear they will get pecked. Getting rid of them is not an option as each chicken has a special relationship with my students.
I am OUT OF IDEAS!!! And my students (who visit the chickens almost every day at a socially distant way) are worried. I AM WORRIED. Yikes.
Do any of you wonderful chicken lovers have any ideas? I am open to anything. In fact, I have peepers, but am reluctant to use them ... will they hurt the chickens? They are still laying. Looking forward to hearing some ideas.
