We’ve had a small horse farm for most of our adult life, but chickens are new territory this year. I’ve learned a few things. Chickens are mean to one another on occasion and sometimes even cannabalistic. I find this disturbing. I am now fully aware of the origin of the phrase “Pecking Order”. My blue laying Auracana hen is at the bottom of it… and her bottom is what the others have been pecking at. I had treated all for stick fleas several times, to no avail. It was getting so that the poor girl was no longer laying and all her tail feathers were gone, plus she’d walk out in the morning from a night of hen-pecking with a bloody hind end. you’re welcome.
What to do. The local chicken guy said “it’s nature, they’re gonna do it anyway, you just gotta let ’em. ” I could not sit back and watch, doing nothing at all. What I know is…a red heat lamp when chicks are young is supposed to deter them from pecking at each other, but you don’t want too much heat in an adult hen house, even in winter. Husband suggested red light. So, I found a red “party light” at the hardware store and put it in the hen house to see if it would deter the damn pecking. I also started sprinkling the hen-pecked hen’s butt with corn starch to stop the red look and blood specs from attracting the chickens to attack. It worked! My blue egged girl is back to laying and her behind is healing. I also have the added benefit of more eggs, as egg production slowed down once daylight hours were at a minimum. Now with the extra light, more eggs are being produced once again.
It woulda been CHEAPER if you liked jewelry better than horses, who you kiddin.
moving along…
