Emergency problem with my chickens(Warning Extremely graphic photos)

[Jenski]

There is already lots of good information on this thread for nipping the pecking issue, but here are just a couple of things I do for my girls to keep them occupied. If your chickens already have sufficient space (first requirement for keeping them peaceful), you could toss these into the run:

* cabbage (whole, half, or wedges. Mine like red cabbage best.)
* cauliflower (whole, half, wedges, whatever.)
* winter squash (try halves)
* pumpkin (for a real challenge, leave a whole one in there and let them go to town on that.)
* fallen leaves (already mentioned, I think)
* straw (less likely to get eaten and cause problems than hay, but still provides lots of busywork as they scratch it up and look for seeds)
* corn cobs (after family dinners!)
* apples (try whole if they need a big job)


The bottom line is, chickens are like other animals: if they are confined, they need a job. Bored animals (and people) can become unhappy, depressed, and violent. In the wild, they would spend their days ranging in search of food. Give your chickens some "wild" stuff to range through, or maybe even perches or other objects to explore, and I'll bet you end up with happier chickens.

Good luck!

 

[juice]

thank you soooo much. I REALLY want to freerange them, but with cats around, am I asking for trouble??? Although, if they end up harming each other,because they are bored,then what am i really accomplishing?? Thank you again, I will try your advise. juice

 

[masschix]

Thank you to everyone who replied to the original post!!!!! I was just hopping on tonight to post something similar happening to our birds. Three of my EE's have a lot of missing feathers and some spots are extrememly bruised, almost to the point of bleeding. My husband said he noticed one of the Golden Comets doing a lot of pecking to one of the EE's, that's when he discovered the other birds.

Thanks for all the advice!!!!! By the way....anyone know where we could get some of the Blue Kote and Avia Charge 2000?

Laura

 

[Zookeeper9000]

Quote:
Laura any feed store should carry blue kote and avia charge 2000. Good luck

 

[silkiechicken]

Quote:
99% of the time, cats won't bother chickens. They are 95% of the time afraid of the standard sized ones.

 

[dlhunicorn]

As far as I am aware, Avia Charge 2000 can oly be purchased online from McMurry or Strombergs