I have eight hens, 5 Barred Rock and 3 RIRs. All but one Barred Rock have no feathers on their back. I have tried and went through two bottles of Rooster Booster and am now trying Hot Pick. Nothing seems to work. One bird is looking very sad lately, even her wings and tail feathers seem to be thinning out. I have had them for about 5 months now and am concerned for there health. They are great layers and seem to be ok otherwise. Thanks for listening! Kel
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I'm going to try Pinless Peepers on one of my worst offenders this Winter, before I give up and send her to the crock pot. She only picks on a couple of specific birds and she's a great layer, but this needs to stop before her bad behavior spreads. I also saw what looked like egg yolk on her head yesterday. Couldn't find any traces of egg anywhere, and we collect twice a day, so I am watching her like a hawk. They have plenty of room and plenty of protein, I addressed that first, so I figure it's worth a shot.
I have been doing chickens for several years now. Once your pecking order is established, and assuming they have enough space, the pecking should go down to a level that does NOT include damage to chickens. However, in my experience RIR chickens are very prone to pecking as they tend to be at the top of the pecking order. You can get little jackets to protect the chickens being pecked, you can get some anti-peck ointment at the feed store, or you can re-home of the pecked chickens or pecking chickens. I have found the ointment is only partially effective. There are also some theories that the chickens doing the pecking are missing some nutrient, but I haven't had luck with any of the supplements on other forums. You may be able to narrow the pecking to 1 RIR, in that case you can just remove the aggressive hen. I know this is hard and you love your chickens, but the health of the group is the most important thing. Good luck!
Thanks Kate. I agree with you about pecking order and the RIRs. I bought these chickens as pullets from a women that needed to get rid of them. I bought them"as is" and was hoping within few months the pecking order would be established. Not the case. I would not have chosen RIRs for my flock but had lost my previous birds and didn't want to start over with chicks. I am going to try separating the culprit. I feel so bad for the other hens. Thanks for your input, it always helps to hear from others!
Kelly
HI! I am new to the whole chicken thing and am trying to soak up as much knowledge as I can. What type of chicken is a RIR? Thanks!
A Rhode Island Red:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhode_Island_Red
Again, I am a complete rookie at this, but have been reading my little arse off! LOL.
I read an article that said if you have one dominant bird to seperate THAT bird from the others. Not the other way around...
Thanks Kathryn! I have read that too! I'm sure the two bossy hens that have all their beautiful feathers are responsible. I will be putting them in time-out very soon! LOL!
I'm glad the biggest issue is moulting! Rachel is the queen of chicken knowledge, so I'm sure your ladies will be fine soon. :)
First, thank you all for responding. Katheryn, they have lots of room, no problem there. I'm sorry I wasn't clear in my post. I bought the chickens(6+months ago) and they had already been pecked. I bought the Rooster Booster in hopes that with a little care they would stop pecking. This has been an issue ever since I picked them up.
Coincidentally, they are moulting! So, Sheri you called it. They are still laying eggs, which I find interesting. If anyone has any advice on how to stop them from pecking the feathers off of each other, please reply.
Try switching them over to chick starter (just one bag's worth) to give them a protein boost. Also cut out nearly all treats (veggies/fruit). Treats are good for lots of vitamins but they can rapidly decrease the overall amount of protein a chicken takes in every day. Molting adds to this problem because a bird that's growing feathers needs lots of protein to make those new feathers.
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