Pinless peepers help

[tarahharlin]

Here is a hen with pinless peepers on.


Here is what they look like...
https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/pinless_peepers.html

These can do wonders with aggressive birds. If you have serious issues with aggression in your flock and can't or won't send "Henrietta" to the stew pot or can't rehome her either, these may be the answer. Chickens can be brutal with other flock members and killing another of their flock is sometimes the case. This hen here was a comb ripper. I was finding blood all over the place and she even turned on me!! LOL She wore these peepers on and off for about 3 years and now she is a very calm flock leader. I am glad I didn't eat her.

I am thinking of trying these and was wondering how long you generally left them on? I know you mentioned how you used them on and off for about 3 years, but the times she wore them, how long did she usually wear them for? Just curious because I have a hen (Australorp) who is 2nd from the bottom in the pecking order that goes after our Barred Rock who is the bottom of the pecking order. It happens when the Barred Rock is in a nesting box that the Australorp wants and she just pecks her comb and head. Her comb has been bloodied and she gets trapped in there, so I worry about how bad it could get. This is really the only time the bullying happens, so I would hate to get rid of our Australorp because other than that, she's fine. So, I am thinking of giving these pinless peepers a try and was curious as to how long I should let her wear them for the first time.

 

[TwoCrows]

In your situation I would definitely try pinless peepers on the hen that is terrorizing the BR in the nest box.

You would put them on the bird for at least a month or 2. The hen in the above picture I speak of would wear them about 6 to 8 weeks and then I gave her a break from them. She would have improved for a while and then eventually she returned to her mean self. However in your case, your hen may stop this bad habit if she can't do it for 2 months. It takes at least 4 to 6 weeks to break habits, if at all. So this may stop your bird permanently or you may have to reapply them. But you will have to make this call on when to remove them by her actions. Just don't take them off too soon or she will go right back to being mean.

Give the Australorp time to adjust them as it takes a day or two to learn how to see, drink and eat properly. But they get the hang of it fast.

You might also try something else here. Hang some curtains on your boxes. I did this to prevent egg eating last year but it helped when I added some BR's to my BA flock as well because I too have a hen that likes to peek in and terrorize the young BR pullets on the nest.

Get some material you can hang over the boxes with the opening slit in the middle of the box, just as curtains do. Just enough so the bird has to stick their head in through the material to climb in. This will create a dark box and keep the bird inside hidden for the most part. You can peel them open a bit at first so the birds learn how to slip through. Then after a week you can let them come together. Bird slips in and unless this particular hen has to lay, she won't see this BR in the box. This might help, if not the peepers will definitely help.

Good luck and I hope you can solve this issue! I know how it is with these mean hens!

 

[tarahharlin]

Thank you so much for your advice! I am going to try both of your suggestions. I just ordered the pinless peepers and I am going to try the nesting box curtains as well. I'm so hoping this is going to work! Yes, they sure can be nasty!! She's so sweet with us and fine with the other gals, but just mean to our BR. One more question....until the peepers arrive, would you suggest that I separate the Australorp? Today, she got to her again in the nesting box and this time I wasn't at home to intervene. My BR hardly has any feathers left on her head and her comb was pecked again.

 

[TwoCrows]

Yes, if you feel this bird is a danger to your BR or any bird, definitely separate. My hen that I used pinless peepers on over the past 4 years still gets "sent to jail" regularly. She isn't as bad as she used to be and I rarely use the peepers on her anymore, but I keep a cage set up in the run and if she is cranky that day and ripping combs or biting at me, she goes into this cage for the rest of the day.

So yes, cage her if need be. Complete isolation for a month can sometimes rearrange their attitudes and lower them in the pecking order ranks as well. You might even consider this on her.

I am always trying to adjust cranky attitudes. Some birds it works on and others not.

Keep us posted!

 

[tarahharlin]

Got it. I will set up a crate in the run and send her to jail during the day until her peepers arrive.

I will definitely post an update and let you know how it all turned out. Fingers crossed!

Thanks again for all the advice! This is my first flock, so I'm new to all of this!