Pick No More a Bust

[Schroeder]

I started with 12 one day old chicks of mutliple breeds last March. From early on, the others picked the tail feathers from the 2 Golden Campines. I had to cull the flock down to 7 pullets and one cockerel due to inadequate space. One of the Campines went to freezer camp. I thought maybe providing them more room in their 6x6 coop would solve the problem. The remaining GC finally started growing back pin feathers, but then I noticed picking again. So, I applied Rooster Booster Pick-No-More to the area last night.

It had the opposite effect. When I checked on her late morning, her butt was a bloody mess. I observed two different hens in their outside run pecking at the area. I suspect other too. I don't relish the idea of isolating the GC until she heals, but its not like I can just eliminate the one offender. Is it time to "rehome" the GC so that the others don't develop cannibalistic behavior?

 

[mythkat]

I had the same problem with Pick-No-More so I switched to BlueKote. It works much better for me.

 

[gritsar]

Get some pine tar. It'll take care of the problem.

 

[loralei]

I have a flock of 23. In the past they have had a problem with aggressive pecking. In my case it was a protein deficiency and it was pretty simple to correct. I started giving them a higher protein feed, Purina Flock Raiser 20% and black oil sunflower seeds. They go crazy for the seeds... it's like chicken crack! The problem stopped and new feathers are coming in quite nicely!

Godspeed,
Laura

 

[loralei]

BTW a 6x6 coop is more than sufficient for 12 birds. That's 3 sq. ft. of interior space per bird. I've seen 2 sq. ft. recommended.

 

[mypicklebird]

3 square feet per bird in a coop is a minimum, with added space in a run or free range to let them get away from each other. Minimum is the least amount of space you might possibly get away with. More is always better. One big standard bird standing there takes up about 1 square foot- I could never see how a bird could be comfortable or happy in a space only 3 times bigger than itself. If you look at a group of 12 birds in a 6x6ft pen- this equals 3 square feet per bird- and it looks like a commercial facility concentration.
Cannibalism is almost always due to overcrowding, boredom, stress or nutritional deficiency. So you need to take a good look at diet (what are you feeding), and space. If you need to keep 6-7 birds in a 6x6 coop, then you should build an additional run (6x6 or larger) with more space to allow them to do stuff and get away from each other- or allow free ranging. They need things to do that are more interesting than picking each other. People who allow free ranging almost never have cannibalism start in their flocks. Putting blue cote on a bird may allow healing to take place, but the underlying problem with the set-up will still be there. The pickers will likely start on someone else. I would cull the ones with the bad habit (it is a hard habit to break), and increase your coop & run size to decrease the likely hood that the problem will arise again...




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[Schroeder]

I have been feeding Layena and giving them a handful of oil sunflower seed every couple of days. I think I'll try the Flock Raiser to see how that works. I just sprayed Blu Cote on the wounded area. Maybe that will suffice until the higher protein kicks in. On the issue of overcrowing, I have an attached 16 x 16 run to which they have dawn to dusk access, so with 36 sq ft coop they should have plenty of space according to the guidelines I've read here. Thanks everyone.