She said/He said Who's right? Who's wrong? No one!

[WVduckchick]

Where'd everybody go?!

East coast is battening down the hatches (too bad its the wrong kind of hatches! Lol)

 

[FridayYet]

East coast is battening down the hatches (too bad its the wrong kind of hatches! Lol)

Hope the storm stays out to sea!

 

[napdognewfie]

We got over 3.5" between yesterday and last night.

 

[kwhites634]

Looks like we dodged another bullet. Weather channel says hurricane "less likely" to make landfall.

 

[Guyswithchicks]

I have a question, these Nankin hens are really worrying me, I got 7 yesterday and when we got home lastnight I put all of them in their own little run and when I went to feed this morning 2 of them had been pecked so much at the base of their tails that they're bleeding. These are all hens that were housed together when I got them. The 2 that are being pecked at alot are molting so I don't know if that has anything to do with it but I'm worried they're going to kill each other. It only seems to be those 2 that are bleeding, but they dish out as much as they recieve. What should I do, I don't have anywhere else to put them right now, I might be able to get my husband to build something this evening but I don't know if that'll help or it'll just cause the next weakest or smallest 1 in the group to get picked on instead. Should I leave them together and hope for the best or seperate them... I don't know what to do??

Hi..... What you are seeing is chicken behaviour sometimes at its worst. You say that the hens are molting which means that the new feathers are blood rich at the base. Just the slightest amount of blood will cause them to peck. Chickens are omnivores afterall.
I have had this occur on occasion and there are several things you can do. First try and remove the birds being pecked and treat the wound. Here I use Stockholm tar. It also prevents further pecking because it tastes disgusting. You could use iodine or something.
During the molt I supplement my birds with blood and bone meal direct from a processing plant. The hens love it and it supplements their required protein intake.
Hope this helpshelps.

 

[kwhites634]

Guy,
Where ya be?

 

[Guyswithchicks]

 Guy,
Where ya be?

Hey... I live in the north island of New Zealand. A bit south of Auckland.

 

[kwhites634]

Hey... I live in the north island of New Zealand. A bit south of Auckland.

Well, you're certainly in good company in this forum; several of your countrymen around. Not so many on this particular thread, but plenty just "getting their feet wet" and several who've been around enough to keep the rest of us straight & out of trouble. Great place to get help regarding hatching when needed.

What kind of chickens do you favor?

 

[Guyswithchicks]

I've been at this chook breeding game for years. Have tried several breeds but I prefer leghorns because my flock of around 100 layers supply a cafe I own with free range eggs.
I have whites Browns blues blacks and cuckoo birds.
BYC is proving slightly addictive.

 

[kwhites634]

I've been at this chook breeding game for years. Have tried several breeds but I prefer leghorns because my flock of around 100 layers supply a cafe I own with free range eggs.
I have whites Browns blues blacks and cuckoo birds.
BYC is proving slightly addictive.

Yeah, it'll do that.
Certainly nothing wrong with eliminating the middleman by raising your own menu.
My grandmother always had a flock of white leghorns in Illinois when she was alive; always plenty of good eats on her table.