Device to stop Pecking--

[ChicKat]

I guess "Lily" has been pretty aggressive compared to my golden sexlink, who is the standard by which I measure all chickens.

Today she made me angry by pecking one hen's feather -- and then going off and attacking my pullet. I put her in 'chicken jail' - but have seen too many snakes around to leave her totally isolated on the porch in a pet carrier--that I think the snake could get into, so I did what I have been threatening her with and put 'Bumper Bits' on her. I had ordered these a while back along with a special pliers that spreads the ends of the pliers apart the harder you squeeze the handles...(opposite of normal pliers).

Here is a Bumper bit



The left end in the above picture faces the front of the beak and the two small clips on the right end of the bumpa bit insert into the nostrils---and it pinches together.

Without the pliers, I don't think I would have been able to install the 'Bumper Bit'



Ordered pliers with the Bumper Bits at the same time.

Dh didn't want Lily's great beauty marred...but y'know what? she has not been behaving well lately---so there are consequences for that.



Reminds me a little of a nose ring on a bull......


First thing that happened was the two barred rocks tried to remove it for Lily, then she tried to scratch it off, then she tried repeatedly to scrape it off against the ground -- like chickens do when cleaning their beaks....Then she sort of huddled away and resigned herself to it.

I have seen her drink, eat, preen and also munch some grass wearing her new contraption, so I think she will adjust---and hopefully she won't be able to bully anyone else......




If you are someone who has expertise with these..(I guess that would be someone from the UK..).and the installation looks incorrect let me know. It seems to be working fine, and Although her ivory beak now appears to have a black mustache -- or a "breathe-right-strip" -- she seems O.K. -- and adjusting.

No more bullying from Lily.

 

[DeannaOR]

I didn't even know they existed!

 

[fried green eggs]

Interesting I've never seen them before. Where did you get it from? I don't have any I need it for right now but, might be good to have in case.

 

[ChicKat]

Interesting I've never seen them before. Where did you get it from? I don't have any I need it for right now but, might be good to have in case.

I got mine from Omlet.com in the UK...but just now it seems that their store site is blocked (from the USA)??

However, I did find these on eBay UK....and as you know you can find anything on eBay---

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=chicken+bumper+bits

And I just noticed that one of those eBay sites said it would also stop egg-eating...(the bumper part prevents the hen from breaking the shell)....hmmm

 

[bribre]

Vary kool!!

 

[Astrid]

They can eat and drink normally with these on? I"m having a pecking problem and am thinking of buying a set.

astrid

 

[ChicKat]

Hi Astrid,

sorry, I didn't see this post until today.

Yes, eating and drinking continue as normal. Lily drinks, eats and free-ranges, gets grasshoppers and treats. She continues her daily egg laying. I think that the plastic at the very point of her beak prevents complete closure, so she cannot grasp a feather to pull out of another chicken.

I have also heard that it will prevent a chicken from breaking an egg shell to eat eggs.

HTH

 

[Astrid]

Thanks for your reply, ChicKat. My bits arrived, and I"ll try and "install" them this weekend. Not sure why the picking-- they're not overcrowded, they free range, have toys and treats, etc. It's just poor Eleanor Rigby, the lone Speckled Susssex who bears the brunt of the bully girls. Ellie prefers the company of humans; it's almost as if she's above all this hen drama.

Thanks again for the info

astrid

 

[Astrid]

Okay, I put them on. I"m really concerned that they won't be able to eat or drink, as the bits themselves seem longer than the ones in your photo. I bought them on Ebay from a seller in the UK; didn't seem to be any indication of sizing and so I assumed one size fits all. I've got them on two buff orpingtons, three barred rocks, and two wyandottes. They seem to protrude further from their beaks than I see here--- could it be that they're too big? Maybe I could shorten them a bit by snipping off the ends and then taping the ends for safety?

Any advice would be most appreciated!

astrid

 

[ChicKat]

Hi Astrid,

I think that everything would be O.K. --- Wait a little bit and see how they adjust. I think that they can eat and drink well with the devices on. Glad that you got them on.....

I think that it is a little like getting pierced ears. At first the ear-rings seem to be noticable...and after a while, the sensation goes away. The part that extends, is I believe what makes them work. I'll check back tomorrow--- see how things are by then.

:O)