I think I found a miracle cure for feather picking

[pegm]

I have 2 portable dog pens, my issue is space. Have to find another hen first. Guess I could put hay in a corner of the pen as a nest as all are laying right now. Course they will probably stop with the upset this may cause.

 

[pegm]

Good news, a friend has an EE that is near laying age (mine just started a couple of weeks ago), so they are near the same age. He is dropping her by tomorrow am. Gonna have to get busy and cobble together a coop for both of the EE's, so they bond. Happy happy! They lady bought her from only has barred rocks left. Best of all if it doesn't work out, he will take the hen back if need be.

 

[azygous]

Peg, that's wonderful news! Keep us posted on how things are progressing. I sure do hope this works!

 

[Lacy Blues]

Good news, a friend has an EE that is near laying age (mine just started a couple of weeks ago), so they are near the same age. He is dropping her by tomorrow am. Gonna have to get busy and cobble together a coop for both of the EE's, so they bond. Happy happy! They lady bought her from only has barred rocks left. Best of all if it doesn't work out, he will take the hen back if need be.

I think the best way to introduce unfamiliar birds is to put them all in unfamiliar surroundings. If you have a different pen than what your girl has been in, save it til the new bird is there and put them both in at the same time. I'd still break up that bossy duo too.

 

[pegm]

Me too! I've got to find a way to secure the coop, even tho we are in town, we are a rural community with critters runnin' around.

I won't have too much time in the morning, believe it or not, we have a funeral here locally for a civil war veteran. My husband and I are on a Military Funeral Honors Team and we will help to pay final respects for this vet. Unusual happening for pretty much anywhere I would think.

Going to go to our Sears outlet and see if they have any boxes that can be used. Wish I knew someone with a large dog crate, that would be pretty secure from varmints.

I will keep you informed.

 

[enola]

You guys have a lot more patience than I do. Chronic pickers can t be cured. If the hen peepers don't work my hatchet sure does. Life is too short to put up with all that drama.....

However I have read this intire thread and am going to buy some Forco for my old mare.

 

[pegm]

Update on my chicken pickin' problem. I built a very small run, maybe 7X7 out of a portable dog run, borrowed a pretty small dog crate from a friend. Built a small roost to go inside. Covered the run with deer fencing, built a small nest box out of a wooden crate, and went and got the other EE. Put her and Goldie in the new digs, and this hen was almost as bad as the reds. Took her back Sat morning and got the other EE he had, a slightly younger bird. She and Goldie seem to get along fine, no squabbles. They have been together 2 days now. I will leave them together for 3 more days as suggested, then swap out the dominant red and add the two EE to the main coop/run. Should I do that at night? Add the two EE to the roost after dark and take Rosie out and stuff her in the dog crate in the makeshift run? The funny thing is this crate is so small that the door isn't much bigger than the EE's. But come dusk, they jump right up and stuff themselves into it. I put it on the ground after I close it because I don't want it to fall off the nest box I have it sitting on during the night for any reason. Plus, I think the new EE is laying, I got a light pinkish egg today. Goldie lays very light olive eggs . So far so good.

 

[azygous]

Have you named the new one? Glad she and Goldie are bonding. It should be a solid bond, too. Things are going according to plan so far. But one recommendation. When it comes time to move Goldie and company to the main coop, I would do it like I do with new chicks moving from brooder to coop.

After the RIRs get through laying for the day, lock them out of the coop and install Goldie and her BFF. You can ditch the small dog crate. I hope you can do this as early in the day as possible. It will imprint on the two that this is now where they sleep, not the dog crate. They need to learn to use the roosting perch again to sleep.

At the final minute before it gets dark, let the RIR in that you've selected to remain behind. She will spy the two hens, but probably won't do much because she'll be in a hurry to roost before it gets dark. Hopefully the other two will be on the perch. (If they aren't, place them up there before letting the RIR in.)

In the morning, I'm sure you'll want to be right there to watch what happens when they wake up. Don't interfere as long as there is no more happening than some mild jabbing with beaks. This should settle down after an hour, probably after just a few minutes.

Keep the other RIR isolated for a couple of weeks before attempting to release her back in the run. When that happens, you may have to be ready to put her back in isolation for another week if the time away hasn't altered her rank.

You'll be reporting on progress between now and then, so things may change to alter the plan. Let's play it by ear. Chickens are all so different, you can't predict with certainty what's going to happen, except hope for the best. But you're off to a good start!

 

[pegm]

Good idea about separating the rir's the first day and putting Meredith back in at dusk. Goldie is used to sleeping in the coop, so I think she will just go right back to it and the new one (must find a name) will follow. The reds don't lay very early unless they skipped the day before, but as soon as the first one lays I will move them. The little dog crate will have to do for a coop for the dominant red for however long I keep her separated.

 

[azygous]

The purpose of this exercise is to break up the RIR pair dominance. Separating the two of them for several weeks will impair their bond and deprive the one you end up introducing to the EE pair of her confidence of being a member of a dominant pair.

When she meets the EE pair, she will be outnumbered by them. Hopefully this will be enough to get her to accept a new, lower rank in the pecking order. This is not a given! She may still be a bad-***, even alone. We'll have to see how that goes and revise the plan if needed.

After a few weeks, the new pecking order amongst the three will have established itself. So when you re-introduce the RIR that has been isolated, she will face challenging the established pecking order. Hopefully, she'll settle in at the bottom, at the very least, no longer in cahoots with the other RIR.

This could all backfire, I have to warn you. Messing with the pecking order can be a dangerous thing! Mostly I'm kidding. They're chickens. We're smarter than they are. Right?