Chicken help

[Vandy]

Hopefully this is allowed here, my apologies if not...

A few weeks ago, I separated one of my hens from the other 4 because over the course of about 24 hours, they had apparently ganged up on her and plucked almost all her feathers off. After a few weeks of isolation, the feathers have grown back and the lone chicken is clearly healthy and very bored in her isolation cage. Any tips for re-introducing her to the flock?

I remember hearing somewhere about some topical spray or cream you can put on a chicken so the others won't peck it, but the feed store personnel looked at me like I was crazy when I asked if they carried something like that. Can you safely put something like equine "chew stop", McNasty or bitter apple on a chicken? Advice please?

[mayhew]

Can you partition your coop, so that the others can get used to her again without being able to pick at her?

I have no idea about using bad-tasting stuff to prevent it. I know that chickens have different tastes than we do. They'd probably LOVE to eat her if you sprayed her with spicy stuff--they don't taste spice like we do, so they only get the flavour, not the heat. Not sure about bitter apple.

Do they have plenty of room in their coop? Do you let them out in the winter?

[BramblewoodAcres]

If you have a wire dog kennel, or even a cat kennel, you can put her in the kennel in the chicken house and let them see her in there. I'd keep the kennel in the coop for a few days and then free her with the rest with you there to intervene if necessary.

The only way to stop pecking is by de-beaking. There isn't a substance that will stop the pecking entirely. It's kind of like the crap manufacturers sell to stop cribbing...they claim it works, but you're just wasting your money.

Be warned that chickens will pick on others if they are crowded or they perceive the picked on hen as being weak, vulnerable or ill. My flock has ganged up on and killed weaker hens. It's the nature of the flock. Weak, vulnerable, ill birds put the entire flock at risk to predators so they get rid of the weakest to preserve the whole.

Your hens may not accept the pecked on one back into the flock if they sense there is something wrong with her. They may accept her back without an issue but she will always be on their "pick on" list.

[ponygirl]

No tips other than do it at night.

[chestnutmarebeware]

Sometimes moving the whole flock into "new" quarters works—even temporarily. That way they're all disoriented and at a disadvantage and aren't defending their "home" ground.

[petit fromage]

I find that my chickens are more prone to picking on a "weak" or "different" member of the flock during the winter months. Maybe there is less to do outside so they tend to squabble more? Last winter my flock ganged up on my favorite rooster, not letting him eat or roost with them. I caged him up with only one gentle hen until he regained his strength. When I turned him loose again, I kept a close watch on his health and all was good. They can certainly be brutal to each other.

[ptownevt]

I second, put her back at night, when they're all roosting. Next, if she gets pecked again at all, put black salve or blukote on it. They are attracted to pink and red areas, like bare skin or blood. The black salve and blukote is not attractive to them.
Pam

[Marcella]

I've used blu-kote on chicken owies because they won't peck at it and make it worse.

If you have a light in your coop, make sure it is red. White lights tend to cause more pecking.

I had a little hen get beat up repeatedly. She ended up living in my house and wearing a chicken diaper because I am a total sucker. I do not recommend this living arrangement, even though I had an alarm clock every morning when she would jump in bed with me and start preening my hair to wake me up. It absolutely scared the daylights out of my husband a few times to wake up with a chicken in bed (and 4 cats).

[lolalola]

What a great story! What did you use as a chicken diaper, just for future reference?

[M. O'Connor]

Did you actually see the poor hen get attacked, or have you assumed that is what happened to her feathers?

Chickens molt this time of year, and it it not pretty. In fact it's pretty awful looking, just as you describe--no feathers at ALL on their backs sometimes. It's not the work of other chickens, though.

Just a thought.

[jetsmom]

I've used blu-kote on chicken owies because they won't peck at it and make it worse.

If you have a light in your coop, make sure it is red. White lights tend to cause more pecking.

I had a little hen get beat up repeatedly. She ended up living in my house and wearing a chicken diaper because I am a total sucker. I do not recommend this living arrangement, even though I had an alarm clock every morning when she would jump in bed with me and start preening my hair to wake me up. It absolutely scared the daylights out of my husband a few times to wake up with a chicken in bed (and 4 cats).

Your Husband is a Saint!!! Mine puts up with the dogs, but I think he'd draw the line at having a chicken in bed with is!

[Vandy]

She ended up living in my house and wearing a chicken diaper...God bless your husband!

I don't believe she was molting, as my SO did see some picking going on. He knows a tiny bit more about chickens than I do, which still isn't saying much. However, I can say with great confidence that diapers and bed rest as a treatment option never crossed his mind - in fact, he was horrified when I suggested rehabbing her in the farm office (she ended up in a dog cage in the hay barn) ;) Would the other hens be picking on a chicken who was the only one molting? It was strange how quickly it happened and how many feathers disappeared down to the bottom inch of hard part literally overnight, so I'm worried about it happening again if it was indeed caused by the others! For reference, this hen is a Dominique and her "sister" who is a Dominique of the same age/living arrangements has never molted, nor have my others (barred rocks), at least not noticeably like this.

[equusvilla]

I've used blu-kote on chicken owies because they won't peck at it and make it worse.

If you have a light in your coop, make sure it is red. White lights tend to cause more pecking.

I had a little hen get beat up repeatedly. She ended up living in my house and wearing a chicken diaper because I am a total sucker. I do not recommend this living arrangement, even though I had an alarm clock every morning when she would jump in bed with me and start preening my hair to wake me up. It absolutely scared the daylights out of my husband a few times to wake up with a chicken in bed (and 4 cats).

Please tell me you can post a picture of a chicken in a diaper!!!! I wanna see that.

[SmartAlex]

I have a picture of a diapered chicken somewhere Julie. We used to do it all the time as kids.

As for the chicken topic at hand. They will sometimes freakishly molt early and over-vigourously. My mother sometimes ends up with one in the house in the winter.

Reintroduce them at night, put a red light in the coop which will disguise blood. You can use "Rooster Booster" black salve on any pink skin. They go for the pink skin. When we raise white Cornish crosses, they grow too fast for their feathers to fill in. You end up with lots of exposed skin that the others will pick at.

[ponygirl]

http://www.mypetchicken.com/Diapers___Saddles-Chicken_Diapers__NEW__-P494.aspx

[Vandy]

I have a picture of a diapered chicken somewhere Julie. We used to do it all the time as kids.Wait...so there is more than one person out there who has diapered a chicken? :lol: SmartAlex, did you do it so sick chickens wouldn't make a mess inside the house or just for fun? Personally, I lived in suburbia as a child and I had a baby doll whose diapers I could change, but is diapering chickens what kids who grow up in the country do for fun? ;) Or was it more like, "Mom says the chickens can sleep in our bedroom, but only if they're wearing diapers"?

ETA: Oh boy, just looked at that link ponygirl posted, and apparently, chicken diapers are great for "Beloved family pets who you couldn't dream of putting outside." Now, I do love my chickens, but sorry, they aren't going to live inside any time soon. My SO is going to absolutely freak when I share this link with him...At $22 per diaper, it would be an expensive gag, but I can just see him waking up on April Fools Day to discover a whole flock of diapered hens in the bedroom! :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Simkie]

http://www.mypetchicken.com/Diapers___Saddles-Chicken_Diapers__NEW__-P494.aspx


Is anyone else dissapointed that there are no "saddles" under the "diapers and saddles" link?

[Simkie]

Oh, hey, look!

http://www.mypetchicken.com/Chicken_Health-Pick_No_More_Lotion__4_oz-P389.aspx

Vandy, is that the nasty tasting stuff you need?!

[Vandy]

Simkie, that looks like it's worth a try! May just add a diaper to my order too ;) This could turn into one of those threads on H/J about what color saddlepad to get for a chestnut horse...What pattern of diaper would look best on my black and white chicken? And should I add bling to my chicken's diaper? What about a monogram? :lol:

[equusvilla]

That is great. I love learning new things here and a chicken diaper is sure new to me!!!

But what I really want to know is How did you SURVIVE diapering a chicken???

We wanted to raise some chickens - the yard eggs are so wonderful..but there are so many predators - I won't do it until we have a completely enclosed coop. I want to raise Japanese Long Tails.

http://tasrarepoultryclub.googlepages.com/Phoenixpair.jpg/Phoenixpair-full;init:.jpg

The roosters never loose their tail feathers unless they are pulled out.

[Vandy]

Just got a break and wanted to check out that petchicken website some more. I was disappointed to find that "chicken wear" is chicken-themed clothing for humans, not little outfits to dress up hens.

Julie, I'd survive chicken diapering just fine - have had my hens since they were 1.5 days old, and they love to be handled and held. In fact, they are almost agressively affectionate. If I am sitting down, they will jump up into my lap for cuddles. The maximum capacity of my lap is 2 chickens, but sometimes they try to exceed it. Lap chickens are a great party trick. I'm fairly sure they would quite enjoy the act of being diapered.

[equusvilla]

Just got a break and wanted to check out that petchicken website some more. I was disappointed to find that "chicken wear" is chicken-themed clothing for humans, not little outfits to dress up hens.

Julie, I'd survive chicken diapering just fine - have had my hens since they were 1.5 days old, and they love to be handled and held. In fact, they are almost agressively affectionate. If I am sitting down, they will jump up into my lap for cuddles. The maximum capacity of my lap is 2 chickens, but sometimes they try to exceed it. Lap chickens are a great party trick. I'm fairly sure they would quite enjoy the act of being diapered.

Ohh - this made me sad we did not get the coop built this winter. That is such a great story!!

[Vandy]

Ohh - this made me sad we did not get the coop built this winter.
With spring just around the corner, now's the perfect time to start! This is my first batch of chickens, and they are coming 3 (or maybe they turned 3 on January 1, do you age chickens the same way as horses?;)) One suggestion on buiding your coop: line the underside with chicken wire as well (we shoveled a layer of dirt over it to be softer for their feet). I thought the builder of the coop, an experienced chicken owner, was being overly cautious when he told me we needed to do this, but as soon as the chickens were in there, predators (coyotes?) tried to dig underneath and stopped when they got to the wire.

But hey...why bother building a coop? Just get some diapers and keep them in the house! :lol:

[Marcella]

My diaper came from: www.chickendiapers.com

I had to measure her for it, and then just change the sandwich baggie inside the diaper that collected the poop 1-2 times per day. If we went away for the weekend, she would go in a large dog crate so she wouldn't have to wear a dirty diaper for an extended amount of time. I am not sure I will ever do that again with a chicken in the house, but it was fun for the 2 years it lasted and I have quite a few stories. And none of the cats ever bothered her. In fact, they were scared of her because she would chase them. Her diet consisted of chicken feed, but I couldn't keep her out of the cat food. And the worst part was when she figured out how to use the cat flap to get into the room with the litter boxes. She would go in there and dust bathe. Yuck. YUCK. YUCK. And then need a bath in the sink.

I have a few pictures somewhere. She was a tiny little phoenix hen (standard size, but a runt). She was the only one that survived out of some eggs I stuck under a broody hen--I couldn't figure out where the eggs were going until it dawned on me that the hen was eating the chicks as the hatched.

My husband puts up with a ridiculous amount of stuff with no complaints. He just goes along with life on an island (yes, complete with a bridge that looks like the perfect home for trolls, which is the exact line we have used to keep children off the bridge, "don't go on the bridge or else the troll that lives under there will eat you") with chickens, a herd of cats, and horses. Pretty good for a guy that grew up in the city.

[equusvilla]

But hey...why bother building a coop? Just get some diapers and keep them in the house! :lol:

yeahhh - NOOOO - not going there. This last month with a sick (and leaking at every end) dog about did me in!

I am also really picky about the way things look. It has to be something that is asthetically pleasing as well as predator safe!

[equusvilla]

My diaper came from: www.chickendiapers.com

I had to measure her for it, and then just change the sandwich baggie inside the diaper that collected the poop 1-2 times per day. If we went away for the weekend, she would go in a large dog crate so she wouldn't have to wear a dirty diaper for an extended amount of time. I am not sure I will ever do that again with a chicken in the house, but it was fun for the 2 years it lasted and I have quite a few stories. And none of the cats ever bothered her. In fact, they were scared of her because she would chase them. Her diet consisted of chicken feed, but I couldn't keep her out of the cat food. And the worst part was when she figured out how to use the cat flap to get into the room with the litter boxes. She would go in there and dust bathe. Yuck. YUCK. YUCK. And then need a bath in the sink.

I have a few pictures somewhere. She was a tiny little phoenix hen (standard size, but a runt). She was the only one that survived out of some eggs I stuck under a broody hen--I couldn't figure out where the eggs were going until it dawned on me that the hen was eating the chicks as the hatched.

My husband puts up with a ridiculous amount of stuff with no complaints. He just goes along with life on an island (yes, complete with a bridge that looks like the perfect home for trolls, which is the exact line we have used to keep children off the bridge, "don't go on the bridge or else the troll that lives under there will eat you") with chickens, a herd of cats, and horses. Pretty good for a guy that grew up in the city.

Just had to share that everyone in my office (all city-folk) are enjoying the heck out of this thread!!!!! ...and they are making fun of me too - but I still want chickens!

[Marcella]

I wouldn't trade the chickens that live outsidefor anything. They are the greatest little pets. And useful! There is nothing like fresh eggs. It is very humbling to wake up in the morning, go outside in my bathrobe and muck boots, feed everything, and then get some warm eggs out of the coop and cook them up for breakfast.

Now, I don't fault those that eat their birds. Mine have just been around for a while and I am a little concerned about eating them because I know what they have been eating...everything that isn't nailed down or covered with concrete. Believe me, I've been awfully tempted at times to grab one and fry her up when I chased her round and round the house in high heels trying to get them in their coop if we were going out for a late night.

I even pulled a string of tarp out of one's mouth because it must have looked tasty.

[Moderator 1]

Just wanted to reassure the OP and others that threads about other farm critters are just fine--that's one of the reasons we added this forum. :)

I've heard of "fowl" diapers before, but... :winkgrin: