I have tried EVERYTHING!! Help!

[FlyingFChick]

I am at my wits end! I have 14 chickens and have a major pecking problem! I have tried EVERYTHING I can think of to stop it. I was hoping that someone could offer some more suggestions as to what I can do to stop it (short of putting all of my girls in freezer camp!) This is what I have tried.

My girls have PLENTY of room. We cannot free range here, but for the 14 we have (all connected) the original 7 x 14 run, and 10 x 14 run and an open 20 x 10 pasture area. I think I figured it out and it is like 34 sqft per bird. They have 2 coops that they use one is 4 x 6 and one is 4 x 8.

I have 2 big feeders available and 3 big waterers. That never seemed to be a problem.
They are eating layer crumbles. I give them boss everyday.

Here is what I have tried

cat food as a protein booster
vinegar in their water
I have checked for mites, lice, etc. Nothing, but have also sprayed for them
"flock blocks" to keep them busy.
peepers - that didn't stop them.
trimmed their beaks - maybe not enough
blu kote, bag balm, vicks

If there is something that I am not doing, PLEASE let me know!!
This is driving me NUTS!

Thanks!!

 

[galanie]

Find out who the major pickers are and separate them from the rest. Usually there is one or even two that instigate and removing or separating them for at least a week will help tons.

 

[Lisa202]

Are they pecking the feathers out of the others? I had one that pecked the others so bad that they had bare bottoms (they looked so pathetic). She was also eating the feathers and I also tried everything I had read about boredom, over crowding, animal protein etc etc. I only had one that was the offending chicken but I originally thought it was 3 of them because I had 3 brahmas and they all looked identical, so I had to sit there one day and really watch what was going on and finally realized that it was only the one meany.

I tried chicken jail for 1 week, then put her back and she started up right away. So I put her back in chicken jail, this time moving the jail out of sight of the others and kept her there for 2 weeks. When I put her back with the others this time, a new pecking order had been established, so when she tried to peck at the others (almost immediately and nastier this time) the others really ganged up on her. But I guess she was too strong and the others backed down after only a 1/2 hour. She stared attacking them and within an hour I had to separate her to prevent real injury. I put her back in chicken jail and rehomed her the next day. I never tried pinless peepers. I didn't have any and I was just sick of her by that point. She was always a bully and I just didn't want to deal with her anymore. It's been nice and calm since she's been gone.

 

[FlyingFChick]

I have tried "chicken jail" it just doesn't seem to help, so I must have a whole flock of peckers! I have 5 that are 4 months old ( 1 EE roo, 2 EE, and 2 ISAs) the 2 ISAs are always pecking on my poor roo, so I have jailed them and they just start all over again. I put peepers on them yesterday and thought that since they were younger than the older ones that are pecking that it just might work.

ANY ONE ELSE!!! PLEASE!! My poor chickens don't have cute fuzzy chicken butts and some don't have tail feathers! They are pathetic!!

 

[FlyingFChick]

Has anybody tried something called Hot Pick? It is supposed to be herbs and hot spices. Will it burn their skin, I wonder. I will do some checking on the internet and let you know what I have found

 

[ThinkingChickens]

That's so odd. They do have a ton of space compared to my girls, and we don't have pecking. Have you thought about trading some birds or getting a more dominant roo?

 

[7L Farm]

It's a hard habit to break. My chickens look like they have been at war. I've tried everything under the sun & cannot stop this behaviour. Know one really knows how to stop it. The anti pic lotion works but you will go broke buying this stuff it has to be reapplied everyday are it won't work. Do not get this stuff in your eyes you will think you are going blind.

 

[finflwr]

Long-shot:

I've not tried this, but have read it recently, possibly on BYC.. Apply bakin-soda to all chickens. Not sure how this would work, but? Perhaps search forum/internet for further reference?

Good Luck, hope it improves in your chicken land..

 

[ChickenCanoe]

A couple good suggestions so far.
Be careful about cat food for extra protein. Read the label. Most are in the 9-11% range. It's rare to find a cat food that's higher in protein than chicken feed. Fish, mealworms, field peas and BOSS are much higher in protein.

If it were me and I identified the culprits and tried everything you have done, they would be next sunday's chicken and dumplings.

good luck.

 

[welasharon]

I would start dividing them up between the different areas that you have and observing them to try and pinpoint which are the culprits and then make decisions from that point. I imagine that you have some instigators and then just followers. You've got lots of room to work with. You just have to systematically work it out. I don't think there is going to be anything flock wide that is going to fix it.
sharon