vent pecking

[kelzey]

it only happens with one of my girls (she’s on the bottom of the pecking order) but my top hen literally won’t leave her alone. i have to bring her in today because the poor little lady couldn’t even get down off the roost without gobble guts (top hen) pecking at her vent. she couldn’t even get a chance to lay her egg until i locked the other two out of the coop, and she’s in there trying now i believe. i’m going to clean her up and i have a spot set up in the living room for her, so that she can heal in peace because her vent has some blood on it.

my point is- does anyone have any advice for my situation? any way to get my top hen to stop doing this? she hasn’t always been like this, and i know that it’s her because i’ve seen her do it. whenever i notice her go for it i gently push her out of the way but it doesn’t do much.

 

[Chickensandhorsesforlife]

use no -pick lotion. works like a charm. I believe it is rooster booster brand, but I could be wrong

 

[Chickensandhorsesforlife]

It does not hurt open wounds

 

[kelzey]

use no -pick lotion. works like a charm. I believe it is rooster booster brand, but I could be wrong

any idea where i could get that? does amazon have it? because i’m not near any farm store or anything. also i expected her to kick up a fuss when coming inside but i think she kinda likes it, haha! my cat doesn’t know what to think of the whole thing though. i gave her some food and water and she’s drinking so much! i don’t think my top hen was letting her eat or drink when she was in the coop. that or bottled water is just that tasty. but she’s actually being very calm, she’s such a sweet lady

 

[Chickensandhorsesforlife]

any idea where i could get that? does amazon have it? because i’m not near any farm store or anything. also i expected her to kick up a fuss when coming inside but i think she kinda likes it, haha! my cat doesn’t know what to think of the whole thing though. i gave her some food and water and she’s drinking so much! i don’t think my top hen was letting her eat or drink when she was in the coop. that or bottled water is just that tasty. but she’s actually being very calm, she’s such a sweet lady

Tractor supply. it is purple with an orange top

 

[rosemarythyme]

Amazon sells Pick-no-more lotion. It'll help but it's not an instant magic cure.

What is the protein % of your feed and what else do you feed? How large is your coop and run? Is there clutter and other stuff in the area to keep birds busy and to help the lower ranked bird hide?

 

[aart]

whenever i notice her go for it i gently push her out of the way but it doesn’t do much.

Better to peck her hard on the head.

It would be better to remove the pecker rather than the peckee.

No anti pick goop will solve this problem.......it's behavioral and/or environmental.
@rosemarythyme had asked some good questions.

 

[kelzey]

What is the protein % of your feed and what else do you feed? How large is your coop and run? Is there clutter and other stuff in the area to keep birds busy and to help the lower ranked bird hide?

i’ll have to check the protein percentage when i go out in the coop in a sec, but my coop is around 7/8x10 and my run is around the same size (run is getting expanded once the weather clears up, i plan on adding around another 70/80 sq feet). there’s only three birds in it right now so it’s plenty of space, but i have to work on cluttering stuff more because it’s pretty open right now. we have a lot of snow on the ground so they could be bored because they aren’t out pecking in the dirt or anything, i’m not sure what to do about that. i also looked on there about that no pick lotion but it’s really expensive on canadian amazon- i can only buy a pack of three bottles for around 80 dollars

 

[kelzey]

Better to peck her hard on the head.

It would be better to remove the pecker rather than the peckee.

No anti pick goop will solve this problem.......it's behavioral and/or environmental.
@rosemarythyme had asked some good questions.

i brought her in because she was bloody and it was just making her get pecked stuff more, but i’ll try pecking her hard on the head. i answered those questions!

 

[rosemarythyme]

i’ll have to check the protein percentage when i go out in the coop in a sec, but my coop is around 7/8x10 and my run is around the same size (run is getting expanded once the weather clears up, i plan on adding around another 70/80 sq feet). there’s only three birds in it right now so it’s plenty of space, but i have to work on cluttering stuff more because it’s pretty open right now. we have a lot of snow on the ground so they could be bored because they aren’t out pecking in the dirt or anything, i’m not sure what to do about that. i also looked on there about that no pick lotion but it’s really expensive on canadian amazon- i can only buy a pack of three bottles for around 80 dollars

Assuming your feed is minimal protein (16%) you might want to try bumping it up to 18-20% - you can mix in feed with higher protein, swap out your current feed for higher protein feed, etc.

Clutter will also help so I hope you can get some in place. A straw bale or a pile of dried leaves will also help give them something to busy themselves with.

Hmm, is there any regional farm stores in Canada that do online orders? I agree a 3 pack of Pick-no-more is overkill.