chickentina wrote:i will be watching to see how you get on olpoll
i am still suffering from feather eating and pulling all my girls have bald patches and i have noticed its not just one that does it either its all of them....so far i have tried purple spray, stokholm tar and feather pecking spray....but they still do it
you are very brave to try the beak rings..i hope they work for you as i know what your going through with the feather eating
is there anything else i can try...that i haven,t yet (apart from beak rings?)
tina xx
hi tina,
dont be put off by people that are against things they havent tryed themselves
the rings are working great and the hens forgot about them in less than a day
all the horrible tars and sprays people soke there hens with in my opinion are far more stressful on the hens than the rings....and remember ive tryed both.
Thanks Andrew,
1 dog (ollie),1 rabbit (lucy),1 cockerel (young brian), 11 hens, 5 call ducks, 2 budgies, 20 goldfish (with pond), 200 gallons of tropical fish,.....and one very lucky wife (alison)
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juicylucy wrote:Tina There is a product called ukadex which is very effective for feather pecking. It usually works and is the best anti pecking product around. It stinks to high heaven and it has worked for loads of people i know after they have tried everything else. Please give it a go before thinking about the beak bits Lucy x
the problem is lucy were do you go if the best anti pecking spray (ukadex) stops having the affect,
witch it did with my hens.
Thanks Andrew,
1 dog (ollie),1 rabbit (lucy),1 cockerel (young brian), 11 hens, 5 call ducks, 2 budgies, 20 goldfish (with pond), 200 gallons of tropical fish,.....and one very lucky wife (alison)
.
i dont want to get into an argument about this. I have noticed that most people have given this thread a wide berth as they feel strongly against the beak bits.
I appreciate that you have had real probs. I would have kept spraying with the ukadex personally. i would keep reapplying, and reapplying.
I am sorry that it didnt work for you. It has worked for many others who have had serious problems but they kept the spraying up over a length of time.
I will never agree with the use of the beak bits but thats just my opinion and i will always try to avert anyone from using them if i can.
I just cant see how having a contraption between the beak, clamped into the nostrils is comfortable .....i compare it to a horse having to wear its head reigns with a bit between its teeth constantly.
And they can do damage, serious damage even if they are fitted correctly they can be painfull to the hen.
Think we will just have to agree to disagree as last time this subject was debated it got a little... well ....heated.
hi lucy,
dont worry i wont get into any heated debates im only offering advice about beak rings because ive used them.
if i hadent used them i would be no were near this thread.
i sprayed with ukadex for four weeks every 2 days the affect gets less as the hens get used to it.
you try re-applying the horrible stuff for four weeks and you will soon see how nervy and stressed it makes them
Thanks Andrew,
1 dog (ollie),1 rabbit (lucy),1 cockerel (young brian), 11 hens, 5 call ducks, 2 budgies, 20 goldfish (with pond), 200 gallons of tropical fish,.....and one very lucky wife (alison)
.
hi tina,
the uxadex is easy to use you just spray it on (the girls hate it though) the site also sell the beak rings i m using,
if you go for the ukadex why not get a pack of the rings on the same order there only £1 just to have a look at them and maybe put one on your worst hen,
When I first saw the thread title, I though it was actually like a piercing of the beak somehow, but as they just seem to clip on, and dont seem to bother the girls too much, probably alot less stressful than the feather pecking that has been going on anyway!
3 kids, 4 dogs, one pony, 3 guinea pigs, 2 rabbits, 1 snake, 5 lovely chooks...I guess you can say I love my animals!
i think know exactly what caused it jen, mixing ex batts with pullets i love the ex batts to bits but man have they gave me some grief over the past ten months.
im hoping that over time and longer daylight hours that the habit will be broken as you know from passed threads i tryed every possible solution before the beak rings.
ive also changed there diet for a few months ill be feeding them a mix of, mashed veg with layers mixed corn high protein dog meal cod liver oil and water all mixed up into a kind of slop and they are going mad for it
ps yesterday i got ten eggs from ten hens only one soft shell out of the ten.
i used to give most my eggs away to friends and family but now ive got a paying customer taking three dozen a week, so thats all the food bills paid for their even paying for the duck food
Thanks Andrew,
1 dog (ollie),1 rabbit (lucy),1 cockerel (young brian), 11 hens, 5 call ducks, 2 budgies, 20 goldfish (with pond), 200 gallons of tropical fish,.....and one very lucky wife (alison)
.
my bx batts can be monsters at times!
seriously though im hoping the beak rings dont have to stay for two long but if there laying well they must still be happy enough.
ill give them a few weeks as long as there's no problems the longer there in the better chance they'll have at breaking the habit
Thanks Andrew,
1 dog (ollie),1 rabbit (lucy),1 cockerel (young brian), 11 hens, 5 call ducks, 2 budgies, 20 goldfish (with pond), 200 gallons of tropical fish,.....and one very lucky wife (alison)
.
Chi Chi wrote:Hi Andrew I think Im going to need one of these could you tell me what type you used and where you got it ?
Ta
Chi Chi, with all respect, I think members could offer you some advice on this rather than a beak ring, they little ladies have hardly had a decent life up to now, they have only just been taken from the cages, let me get you some advice before you make your decisions, am only trying to help
You wont need one of those, it will soon settle down, try not to worry. Those things are not very nice, let the girls get used to being free, they will be fine
Hi Chi Chi, I think using beak bits should be an absolute last resort even then I never have and never will use them. You have to consider the fact your hens are only just free from the cages and what they have gone through to get to you will have stressed them hugely. Let them settle and get used to their new life and I am sure things will settle down. If after a couple of weeks you still have problems then try one of the many anti pecking products. If you feel you need advice before then then maybe start a vew thread as I am sure we will all be willing to advise with our experience. Good luck with it Al.
Hi Chi chi. I have to say that I would let them settle in before worrying about anything. The saying "the pecking order" isn't a saying for nothing - a heirarchal order HAS to be established, and the way they do it is by pecking! It is natural behaviour.
Give them 3-4 weeks and then, hopefully, all will have settled. If there is any blood drawn, then pop a bit of flour on to stop the bleeding and get some purple spray as chooks are drawn to blood and red, so if it's purple they won't see it.