How do I get a chickens to stop pecking??

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i forget the equation for how much coop and pen space is needed for large fowl. But that sure sounds way too small. Our smallest pen is 5' x 10' and i keep two bantam Showgirls in there, and it seems a bit small even for them.

Okay, just did a search and here is what i found recommended for space: Standard Chickens minimum 4 square feet per chicken in the coop and 10 square feet per chicken in your pen or run. Bantams are suggested to have 3 square feet per chicken in a coop and 8 square feet per chicken in your run or pen.

i have found that the prevailing reason for pecking is lack of space. Chickens get very stressed out if they don't have enough room. Of course, as you have found, there are instances of just having a mean bird. Those i always rehome. But now with my existing flock, if i see any fighting, it means i need to expand that pen.

 

[donrae]

Yeah, they were quite over crowded. If I had to live that close to others of my own kind and never get away from them, I'd peck them too!

Space is a little better with only 3 birds now but still not enough, IMO. Plus, now they've learned the habit and habits are quite hard to break in birds. I'd think about rehoming the problem to some place with more space. I'd only have 2 birds in the space you're talking about.

 

[TriangleMaster9]

Ok, so, from what i'm hereing, I don't have enough room... What do I do? I live in a neighborhood and don't exactly have any room to expand... I try letting them out into the yard when I can, but I don't end up getting to that as much as I would like to.... I've thought alittle bit and tried just giving them stuff to entertain them, first and stick with honey and food, they seemed to like that, and we hung up a head of cabbage in the coop and by the time I got home was alittle stub of the end. We got to large stocks of brussel sprouts that they will hopefully enjoy just as much. And C.C. seems to be doing alittle bit better.
Obviously this won't work forever, what do I do? Does the extra 4 square feet inside help make up for the outside?

 

[donrae]

I see a fair amount of space around that existing run to expand? Or you could get rid of one bird and just go with two, that might be okay in that space.

 

[TriangleMaster9]

I could stand to get rid of another... I tend to think of my girls more like a dog, well that kind of thing, not as a farm animal, and I get pretty attachted to them... I've already had 2 died at one point and had to get rid of one for pecking.... Thats 1/2, thats already to much.... it could get alittle bit longer? But not much and that would be alot of work for a few square feet...

 

[TriangleMaster9]

She making buttercup start to go bald too!

And C.C. had figured it out and was hiding in the nesting box all day

and buttercup was getting beat up. It's drving me insane what am I supposed to do about this stupid chicken!

 

[MrsRodgers]

I feel your pain..I put saddles on all of them, although a couple have not been pecked at, I wanted them to all feel the same. It has worked well, until last night. When I came out this morning, the one that gets picked the most has holes clear through the saddle. I put rooster booster on it..and they like the taste, so that won't work. I am toying with the idea of adjusting my saddle pattern, so that the saddle covers some of the tail, too. I will also make a butterfly that goes over the wings, to protect that part. What we go through for these chickens! I did call rooster booster, and they said that they had to change the formula a while back, because people were having reactions to the capzasin that was in the formula. I wonder if I used something that had capzasin in it, instead?

EDIT: I just did more research, and apparently, chickens can't taste capsazin anyway. Someone said vicks. That what I will try next.

 

[lilspitfire]

I am having a similar problem. It seems as though I have a hen that is picking on the others and almost sniffing their bums, then pecking/pulling at their tail feathers. They have plenty of space and room to roam. Could it be as simple as an aggressive hen, should I try giving them cat food for extra protein. I have 9 of my 15 laying and am hoping to get more.

 

[TriangleMaster9]

So APPARENTLY rooster booster is JUST supposed to help their feather grow back faster.... I though it did both. So, we got some blu-kote, the spray on kind, I'm so tired of having to wrestle around with those chickens to get that stuff on.... Buttercup is the only one actualy comfort able with me handling her, and I havn't done that in a long time so I don't even know about her.... Any ways, I hope that stuff works. I havn't got the change to put it on yet though, I will as soon as I get the chance...

 

[MrsRodgers]

This is what I got: Rooster Booster is simply a cover up. That's why it's purple. It stains the skin to conceal it from the peckers. The scent is just supposed to further discourage them. This is what I did: I used something called Biotin, which is just a spray that I use on my sore back. It smells strong, but has nothing in it to hurt the girl's. They just don't like the smell. I put it on my naked gal..and as soon as one of the peckers tried it...she shook her head, and went away. It worked, but I have to reapply it daily. She smells really pungent , but they leave her alone. I would find a spray like that, that has natural stuff in it.