chicken apron question

[creative.hortic]

i just bought 5 aprons for my 5 wyandottes that are pecking the crap out of eachother.....i upped their protein, they have hay and toys and stuff to peck at, and i removed the bully who was doing the worst damage, but they STILL are pecking eachother bloody!! It actually seems like the only 2 that are laying are getting the worst treatment...so i cant sleep at nite.
my solution was to buy these darn chickens clothes!!!
anyone else have experience with this? Does it work?
i am concerned that it wont cover the bloody part, right by the base of the tail

 

[CMV]

Get some pinless peepers to combat picking. Aprons are only good for roo damage, covering bare backs and covering wounds (if the apron actually covers the wound). They will not stop the behavior. The pickers will continue to pick by working on areas not covered by the aprons. Pinless peepers are cheap, easy to apply, easy to remove, and effective. I've been using them for a couple months now and love them.

Good luck.

 

[Judy]

How much space do they have? Are they confined to the coop a lot?

 

[7L Farm]

I wish I could give you an answer. My chickens have been picking each others vents for months. Here's what I've done thus far with no results. Pinless peepers, rooster booster, blu/kote, hot pick, more protein, flock block, hanging cabbage, leaves in the run, free range all day everyday. I have red chickens with a purple behind.The only saving grace is that they haven't ever drawn blood. If you find the answer please let me know.I think my chickens do it in their sleep. Hopefully, the bugs will show up & they will stop. I'm not telling you not to try any of the above . Just didn't work for me.Its very frustrating to care for your chickens & the results are a picked vent.

 

[creative.hortic]

see...thats the thing that worries me...they do it to the point of blood and then they dont stop. i was really hoping these aprons would work....

 

[Louise's Country Closet]

They might work, it just depends. I've had pickers that have eventually stopped and in the meantime I'd had my saddles on them to make sure that they weren't making whatever wound worse. At the very least, the saddles will cover up the spots they're pecking at to let them heal.

 

[CMV]

No, aprons likely won't work. Picking is such a nasty habit. I never had any problems with this behavior until I got my last batch of chickens. I am not thrilled with the last batch. I got some feather pickers, a nasty-tempered roo (supposed to be a pullet), some deformities (a crossbeak and a mild facial deformity), and a suspected egg eater in the last 14 birds I ordered. I will be culling some of this group later this year. The picking in my flock got so bad prior to the peepers that I had 2 pullets stop laying due to the stress. I have chickens for eggs, so this was kind of a big deal.

I had good luck with the peepers, but I'm sorry to hear you didn't, 7L Farm. I know we were having problems about the same time earlier this winter and got the peepers around the same time. I wish I could offer you a surefire cure for the problem. I know I will be curing mine by weeding out my flock in the spring. Bad behavior cannot be tolerated. Winters are too long in NH to have birds that freak out in confinement.

Good luck everyone.

 

[gritsar]

Two words - pine tar. Throw out the useless blu-kote and give pine tar a try.

 

[creative.hortic]

where does one get pine tar!?!? and how long does it stay on?
someone just told me to put a bit of vicks on the feathers and the other birds will leave her alone.?