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Chickens Pecking

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Davis In SC

08-04-2007 20:46:19




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Why do chickens peck some others to death? Not roosters fighting, just hens pecking others to death, then eating them.. Is it from some kind of nutritional deficiency, or are some just at the bottom of the pecking order?




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Nutsaboutcombines

08-07-2007 00:48:30




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 Re: Chickens Pecking in reply to Davis In SC, 08-04-2007 20:46:19  
Davis, all of these are very good posts. There's really just no one answer to the problem, but many, many great suggestions have been given and all work at some time or another. You will basically just have to go through this and "troubleshoot" your flock.

However, any excessively picked-on birds MUST be quarantined or isolated from the flock to not only allow for them to heal, but also protect the balance from any possible pathogen factors.

Good luck!

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671DKS

08-06-2007 10:00:27




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 Re: Chickens Pecking in reply to Davis In SC, 08-04-2007 20:46:19  
We had that problem and I asked at the feed store what was up and they had me buy a little bottle of goo that you spred on, it was red colored and tasted real bad to the chickens, well sure enough they would quit pecking and the hurt ones would soon heal. worked real well, seems to me it was called oddly enough anti-peck or something like that, Kent S.



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Andy Motteberg

08-05-2007 20:06:50




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 Re: Chickens Pecking in reply to Davis In SC, 08-04-2007 20:46:19  
They are just hungry for chicken.



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Leroy

08-05-2007 18:06:18




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 Re: Chickens Pecking in reply to Davis In SC, 08-04-2007 20:46:19  
That would start that as day old chicks and the old time method to stop it was to paint the windows of the broder house red so that the light coming thru the windows was red and then they could not tell where the blod was that they were after and that would stop the pecking, after a few weeks they would outgrow the problem. We had painted the windows once or twice but that was when we were raising chickens and we quit them in 56 or 57

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buickanddeere

08-05-2007 12:28:32




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 Re: Chickens Pecking in reply to Davis In SC, 08-04-2007 20:46:19  
Boredom, too small pens/too high population per square foot, missing protein in diet, bad habits and aggressive birds. I have one leghorn hen in with a mixed flock. She's the meanest little monster. I've took her beak to the bench grinder a couple of times and shortened it back.



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Nutsaboutcombines

08-07-2007 00:43:37




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 Re: Chickens Pecking in reply to buickanddeere, 08-05-2007 12:28:32  
Separate heavy from light breeds.



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uncle hippie

08-05-2007 11:21:13




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 Re: Chickens Pecking in reply to Davis In SC, 08-04-2007 20:46:19  
it could also be a lack of calcium. do you feed them oyster shell



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Lanse

08-05-2007 08:10:54




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 Re: Chickens Pecking in reply to Davis In SC, 08-04-2007 20:46:19  
Move em'! I ended up with a few cases of this and took the victims out and let them roam free, outside the other chickens pasture. People may call you crazy for starting a victim protection program from your chickens, but its the difference between a dead bird and a happy one.

I got 15 Rohade island red cockrals (males for warmth) when I mail-ordered my chicks, and three died, and I went in one night with a cat cage and a flashlight and "Abducted" the remaining 12 and caged them up for a week and then let them roam free around the barns and the yard. They now live in little "herds" and roam around in little packs of 3-5birds. They once attacked one of the cats...

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Dave from MN

08-05-2007 05:50:20




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 Re: Chickens Pecking in reply to Davis In SC, 08-04-2007 20:46:19  
Chickens are kind of a "kick em when their down" bird. They also like meat. If a chicken starts to be pecked, and continues to be pecked at there is something wrong with that chicken that it is not able to get away. Some times the bird may have a slight fever from disease, may have sore joints, sore feet from wet bedding, or is getting lathargic from overweight or hot weather. As stated pecking order has some to do with it, but even low chicken on the totem pole should be able to get to refuge. Remove chickens that are being pecked on and monitor for other symptoms.

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low budget

08-05-2007 03:43:13




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 Re: Chickens Pecking in reply to Davis In SC, 08-04-2007 20:46:19  
If I remember correctly we used to get pine tar and smear some on the backs of the ones being pecked on.



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gene bender

08-05-2007 02:57:09




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 Re: Chickens Pecking in reply to Davis In SC, 08-04-2007 20:46:19  
The quality of your eggs is due to the feed you give them and not the color of the shell.



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Bob Farrell

08-05-2007 09:29:22




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 Re: Chickens Pecking in reply to gene bender, 08-05-2007 02:57:09  
Saw on TV that the color of the shell depended on the color of the feathers of the hen. White feathers - white shell, red feathers - brown shell, etc. Anything to it?



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Nutsaboutcombines

08-07-2007 00:39:27




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 Re: Chickens Pecking in reply to Bob Farrell, 08-05-2007 09:29:22  
No, not true, whatsoever. While there may be some pattern to the earlobe color, the best measure, uis whether the birds are a "light" or "heavy" breed. Wither very few exceptions, all heavies will lay either brown or various tones of brown eggs, while others like Aracaunas or Americanas lay palely hued eggs of different colors. Still, they are NOT snow white.

The light breeds, including many of the Mediterraneans, lay the white eggs. Exceptions can include certain strains of Old English games, the "fighting game" chickens. Jungle fowl also lay pale brown eggs.

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Mike (WA)

08-05-2007 17:41:50




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 Re: Chickens Pecking in reply to Bob Farrell, 08-05-2007 09:29:22  
Actually, its "white earlobe, white eggs". The Mediterranean breeds (leghorns, minorcas, hamburgs, some others) lay white eggs- and regardless of the main color of the bird (black leghorn, buff minorca, etc.), they have white earlobes (round patch just below where you figure their ear would be if they were a normal animal). All the others lay colored eggs (even White Rocks, which are pure white). As to pecking- if you can keep them confined, use red light- blood appears black in red light, and the others won't go after it. Doesn't help much when they run outside in the daylight, however.

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Mike (WA)

08-05-2007 17:41:43




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 Re: Chickens Pecking in reply to Bob Farrell, 08-05-2007 09:29:22  
Actually, its "white earlobe, white eggs". The Mediterranean breeds (leghorns, minorcas, hamburgs, some others) lay white eggs- and regardless of the main color of the bird (black leghorn, buff minorca, etc.), they have white earlobes (round patch just below where you figure their ear would be if they were a normal animal). All the others lay colored eggs (even White Rocks, which are pure white). As to pecking- if you can keep them confined, use red light- blood appears black in red light, and the others won't go after it. Doesn't help much when they run outside in the daylight, however.

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dan hill

08-05-2007 02:24:05




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 Re: Chickens Pecking in reply to Davis In SC, 08-04-2007 20:46:19  
Some breeds are prone to pecking.You can put specs on the agressive birds.Catch the ones doing the pecking and put the specs on them.The specs are plastic now and only let the bird see downward.



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RayP(MI)

08-05-2007 16:41:17




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 Re: Chickens Pecking in reply to dan hill, 08-05-2007 02:24:05  
When I was a kid, (more years ago than I want to remmeber,) we had a red salve that we spread on injured chickens, also put a smear or two on the wings of healthy birds. Helped in healing wounds, and apparently tasted terrible, as a few applications would all but stop pecking problems. don't know if you can get the stuff now, but a little bag balm and red food color might work!



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rgvtx

08-04-2007 21:05:10




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 Re: Chickens Pecking in reply to Davis In SC, 08-04-2007 20:46:19  
My experience shows it to be the fact the weak ones at the bottom of the pecking order get picked on and if you don't catch it in time, they end up deceased. I have found if you pay attention you will find the ones being picked on and you can move them to another location or as I do to a small cage to contain them until they heal. I have had pretty good luck re-introducing them back into the flock a week or two later after they have healed from any wounds. Strangely they seem to hold their own the second time around, not sure why.
Since practicing this, I have lost very few hens which is a good thing! Our family loves our fresh brown farm eggs as do our fellow church members who have grown to expect them every Sunday. More birds, more eggs.
Good luck, RGVTX.

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