We have a strange situation going on with our 5 hens. One of them -- an Amber called Angelica, and not the one at the bottom of the pecking order! -- routinely has her feathers pecked and eaten by the other birds (all of them, including the one lower than her!), while she passively stands there and lets them do it.
We've separated Angelica off from the other birds -- first with the lowest rank bird, until we realised that she was pecking and eating Angelica's feathers too, and then on her own. Angelica's feathers have now almost all grown back, but as soon as we reintroduce her to the rest of the group, they start pecking and eating again, while she just stands there! (The pecking is led by one of the top birds, but the others will also do it -- having learned it from her, I guess.)
You might think this is a sign of lack of protein, but they haven't pecked each other, or the lowest rank bird while Angelica has been out of bounds. And as for boredom, they have plenty of space, and will peck at Angelica even when they're free ranging. It seems like, if she's in the vicinity, she's just too tasty not to have a nibble at.
I'm slightly at wits end. I put a bumpa beak on the main culprit weeks ago, but she still manages to pull feathers out. (Goodness knows what she'd be like without the bit!)
I guess I'm going to have to spray Angelica with nasty tasting stuff if I want to reunite her with the others, which seems a bit mean on her ... but I can't keep her in the greenhouse forever! Has anyone else had this kind of experience, with one bird seeming to be extra tasty to the others?? I'd welcome advice.
We've separated Angelica off from the other birds -- first with the lowest rank bird, until we realised that she was pecking and eating Angelica's feathers too, and then on her own. Angelica's feathers have now almost all grown back, but as soon as we reintroduce her to the rest of the group, they start pecking and eating again, while she just stands there! (The pecking is led by one of the top birds, but the others will also do it -- having learned it from her, I guess.)
You might think this is a sign of lack of protein, but they haven't pecked each other, or the lowest rank bird while Angelica has been out of bounds. And as for boredom, they have plenty of space, and will peck at Angelica even when they're free ranging. It seems like, if she's in the vicinity, she's just too tasty not to have a nibble at.
I'm slightly at wits end. I put a bumpa beak on the main culprit weeks ago, but she still manages to pull feathers out. (Goodness knows what she'd be like without the bit!)
I guess I'm going to have to spray Angelica with nasty tasting stuff if I want to reunite her with the others, which seems a bit mean on her ... but I can't keep her in the greenhouse forever! Has anyone else had this kind of experience, with one bird seeming to be extra tasty to the others?? I'd welcome advice.
