Pine tar rant.....

[pozarnsk]

MissPrissy wrote:
We do not 'debate' on the BYC forum.

As someone who has raised chickens for many many years, debeaking is cruel. It is a deformity that never corrects itself and you have to accomodate a chicken that can no longer eat normally nor scavange and forage properly for extra protein.



Aren't you debating me now?

I wasn't trying to start a debate here, I guess that was just a figure of speech to explain a new look on an issue that I now have. I simply understand the challenges people with 1000s of birds must have when I haveissues keeping 80 from eating each other, that's all.

I'll have to get some blue kote. In the winter these birds get "pecky" when they are so cooped up.

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

Another "trick" is to add the birds all at once & at night...when everyone is sleeping. I have many, many birds in not that large of a coop (which will be added to & remodeled this spring) but for now, they have a pecking order but they do not beat up each other anymore.

Oh and I also put a red bulb in my coop, which seems to cut down on the pecking/attacks. My three youngest are a LB pullet & two sultan bantams. I added them about two weeks ago and without issue. I also feed both outdoors & in and I have two different waterers. I feed the larger/more aggressive birds first (outside) and while they are busy eating, I feed the babies in the coop. Edited to say, I do have two large runs and a few weeks ago it was so cold that I ended up losing quite a few birds and during that time, NO ONE fought. I think they were too busy surviving....

 

[gritsar]

Quote:

Pine tar worked wonders in my flock when poor Lil'Bit was getting picked on.

 

[NYREDS]

Quote:
You'll be able to get a lot of bad information here if you want it. My friend Daniel Moynihan was quoted as saying "everyone is entitled to their own opinion but not to their own facts". All too many here post their own facts.

 

[banter]

Quote:
I agree! We are smart people here! Have you ever thought of a pen inside a pen? You can make barriers so cheap with chicken wire, hinges scrap lumber and a staple gun. Also, have you ever thought of super treats when you introduce old to new? Give the established flock good, nutritious treats for a few days like cooked brown rice, thawed frozen peas or other veggies,
canned beans, some hamburg or yogurt mixed with bread- a few cents of good food can save your flock. Also-SPREAD IT AROUND SO they can get some and don't fight! It has worked for me!

 

[ivan3]

NYREDS wrote: You'll be able to get a lot of bad information here if you want it. My friend Daniel Moynihan was quoted as saying "everyone is entitled to their own opinion but not to their own facts". All too many here post their own facts.

What is observed to be efficacious in one context, may not exhibit the same utility in another.

No disrespect to Tip O'Neill's stalking horse but, I prefer the more prosaic "opinions are like fluffy butts, everyone has one".​

 

[luvmygirlsinAK]

Pine tar says right on the can "For use on non-food animals only" I
used Rooster Booster anti-pick lotion for a chicken that was given to us because she was very pecked on. Rooster Booster uses herbs. It doesn't smell all that great, but that's why the other chickens don't like it, and don't peck her. It does, however wash nicely off of my hands, and doesn't smell after cleansing with soap. I'm sure that I will have to put it on more often than the pine tar, though, as it is a little bit runny. That's o.k. as it seems to be working fine, and I don't have to worry about not eating the eggs that come from her.

 

[vermontgal]

Hey luvmygirlsinAK -
I know you are into the herbal remedies. Where do you get this "Rooster Booster anti-pick lotion" that you write about?

 

[luvmygirlsinAK]

Quote:
I purchased it at our local feed store. They had a variety of selections, organic and other. Just look around or call around first. That's what I did.

 

[Ellie_NY_chick]

I used "Hot Pick" with good results. It supposed to have some herb in it that tastes terrible to the birds. I got it at Agway.