I've HAD IT! with the pecking!!!

[Dr.Doorlock]

So far I have :

Used Coal Tar based No-Peck.

Used Coal Tar based no-peck and Dremeled two beeks of the guilty "Peckers".

Finished the Coop De Ville and moved them to the LARGE coop.

Used Coal Tar based no-peck and Dremeled two beeks of the guilty "Peckers".

Used Coal Tar with Wintergreen "No Peck" and installed "Pinless Peepers" on the two "Peckers".

This weekend I'm going to get them some nicer bedding and hopefully build their run.

I'm adding more pics this week to my web site. I want to wind up with spoiled-rotten, beautiful hens. Any advice is appreciated.

 

[ranchhand]

Howdy Doc! i haven't an answer for you but I did go take a peek at your website. The counter was 666, so I bailed out and went back to bump it to 667!

I'll be back for a better look later. You may just have to separate the habitual picker-peckers. Can you put just them back in the original coop, with a run? It sounds like you don't have a run at all right now, and crowding will definitely cause picking!

 

[Dr.Doorlock]

Quote:
You are right about the run not being done, but the new coop is over 5 square feet per hen (4 x 7 + nesting boxes)and my new exericise regemen is to let them loose in the backyard and get aerobic chasing them down.

This weekend I start the run. Threally hard part is trying to dig down 6 to 9 inches in sticky, gumbo soil with roots! There is something I'm going to address to the crowd doing Coop Design.

 

[Buster]

Couple things here. If you coop them for several days to a week in the new coop the should go back in each night without the rundown, however, 5 sq ft per bird won't encourage them not to peck so what you could do is move the offending pecking birds to the old coop while the others get used to the new coop and until the run is built. This should serve to knock the two pecking birds down the PO a bit. Also, try feeding Black Oil Sunflower Seeds for more protein. Sometimes pecking is a sign of protein deficiency especially in winter.

 

[kodiakchicken]

When we first got our chicks I had one EE that targeted my Buff Orp and mercilesly pecked her eyes. I used red light, I separated them, I tried everything I could think of but every time I put them back together the EE would go right back after the Buff orps eyes. The fact was that she was just a pecker and would never stop. Fortunately, I found a new home for her where she could be an "only chicken" and didn't have to cull her. Some birds just won't stop pecking and you will have to keep them separated or get rid of them.