pecking

[AngryRooster]

hi everyone. i just wanted to share with you how i handle my pecking. my hens peck each other a lot so what i use instead of some chicken feed anti peck lotion, is a hot sauce called siracha. siracha is sold anywhere @ any asian store. just apply to the 0 feather area and soon chickens will discover the sauce is too spicy for them. it depends on the breed whether or not if the sauce will affect them. i also recommend rooster booster which is an anti peck lotion. it is currently working for me but i am not sure if the chickens will develop an immunity for it

 

[HEChicken]

I've always heard that chickens do not have the receptors to detect heat, so hot sauces etc, no matter how hot, are about as hot as ketchup to them - they simply do not have the means to detect and therefore by deterred by, spicy foods. DH and I eat a lot of hot sauces and grow our own peppers that make your eyes water just to smell them, but the chooks can eat them all day long and not show any signs that they've even noticed.

Edited to add: it really isn't normal behavior for them to peck a lot. The occasional "put you in your place" peck is acceptable but for it to be a regular thing, you might look at environmental factors that might cause the pecking, such as over-crowding.

 

[AngryRooster]

My chickens peck a lot and they have always hated hot sauce. i forgot to add that I like to add rooster booster and some other ingredients such as bitter melon. you can buy it at Asian stores

 

[HEChicken]

Oh, in that case its probably the bitter stuff they don't like. You can forget the hot sauce - unless there is a flavor in it they don't like, they won't have a problem with eating it.