Hello and have a question

Pics
Date sort Score sort
K

KareninCO

In the Brooder
Jun 12, 2025
4
28
29
Hi Everyone,
Happy to be a part of this community! So much knowledge and experience here!
We have a flock of 10 chickens, including Ameraurcanas, Whiting True Greens, Rhode Is Reds, Barred Rocks, Cream Leg Bars, and a Jersey Giant. All hens. We have them for egg laying. All are the same age, have an indoor coop and an outdoor chicken run. The indoor coop is about 80 sq feet, the outdoor run is about 15' by 12'.
All was well, until recently, when feather pecking began. It seems everyone is pecking everyone, and the flock is a mess. There seems to be enough room for everyone, as suggested space is 2 to 4 sq ft per chicken. I'm going to add some distractions in the coop and run, such as hanging CDs and other play items.
I've just purchased Vetericyn Poultry Wound Care. But, I'm wondering about products like Durvet No Pickin' for Chickens or Versele Laga No Peck to deter pecking. Also, is there anything other than Blu Kote that folks have used to cover the wound, i.e. redness and raw skin?
Many, many thanks in advance for any suggestions !
 
IMG_5902.jpeg
 
Hello Karen, and welcome to BYC! :frow Glad you joined.

Chickens don't want toys. They want stuff (preferably organic) to dig through to satisfy their instinct to scratch. They want to fly up to a perch (branches, stumps, old wood chairs or stools) to sit and preen. They want access to the soil to dig holes and dust bathe and scratch around in to look for critters to eat. Add lots of clutter to the run.

What level protein are you feeding them? I would shoot for 18-20%. Most layer mixes do not offer enough protein. You can correct this by offering an all flock type of feed and putting out containers of oyster shell for free choice feeding by active layers.

You can also supplement them with a can of tuna or a tin of sardines every other day.
 
Welcome to BYC.
I was about to ask about the percentage of protein in their feed but I see @DobieLover has covered that. I agree with what she told you. Add some mulch or a heap of leaves, some roosts in the run, a few hiding places, and make sure that you have at least two feeders and two waterers with fresh water accessible at all times.
 
janiedoe said:
One more suggestion. My daughter occasionally stops at the pet shop and gets a container of live crickets when she visits me. She turns them loose in the run and the chickens get days of fun out of that. (So do we)
Click to expand...
We've got to try that sometime! It sure sounds cool! I wish we could trap them as Lord knows we've got tons of them around here!
 
KareninCO said:
Hi Everyone,
Happy to be a part of this community! So much knowledge and experience here!
We have a flock of 10 chickens, including Ameraurcanas, Whiting True Greens, Rhode Is Reds, Barred Rocks, Cream Leg Bars, and a Jersey Giant. All hens. We have them for egg laying. All are the same age, have an indoor coop and an outdoor chicken run. The indoor coop is about 80 sq feet, the outdoor run is about 15' by 12'.
All was well, until recently, when feather pecking began. It seems everyone is pecking everyone, and the flock is a mess. There seems to be enough room for everyone, as suggested space is 2 to 4 sq ft per chicken. I'm going to add some distractions in the coop and run, such as hanging CDs and other play items.
I've just purchased Vetericyn Poultry Wound Care. But, I'm wondering about products like Durvet No Pickin' for Chickens or Versele Laga No Peck to deter pecking. Also, is there anything other than Blu Kote that folks have used to cover the wound, i.e. redness and raw skin?
Many, many thanks in advance for any suggestions !
Click to expand...
Hello! Welcome to BYC! I hope you get your birds pecking issues resolved!
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom