Need ideas

[dragracer]

Five of my hens are peckinga at my brahma--any ideas to help with hen pecking during the winter months--I think they're board a picking on Wobbles for something to do.

Thanks,
Nicole

 

[beakkeeper]

Oh, no! Let this be a warning to other cold climate people: consider making your coop two or three times bigger than expected to curb boredom and picking!

1. Cover wound with Blu-Kote or other anti pick
2. Provide some entertainment---a head of lettuce hung from the ceiling, a hay bale to pick through, some (live) fish in a bowl of water, etc.
3. If Wobbles gets injured, isolate, treat, and make sure it doesn't get work.
4. If worst comes to worst, you could clip the end(s) of the perpetrator(s)' beak(s) off.

Boredom is not only confined to chickens during these long winter days... people can have it too!

 

[dragracer]

The coop is 8x8 for six chickens. I will have to try lettuce.

 

[sandypaws]

personally... i would "tip" the beaks... cut the end of the top beak off.. might bleed a bit.. stop the bleeding with "kwik stop" or silver nitrate sticks (get them from VET or groomer)

also feed them things you dont normally.. flake of hay,,, "four way" horse feed,, kitten food,, i have even bought 100 crickets from the reptile store, let the chickens chase them all over.. if they get out and live,, they are just crickets...
box of cheap cereal.. ect... be creative