What the Peck?

Pecking. One of the hardest situations we have had to deal with so far while raising these birds. Poor Miss Cleo is getting the short end of the stick in this situation. Granted, the pecking order is a real thing as I have spoken on in previous posts. However, when there is blood involved you have to approach the situation differently.
   Cleo is at the bottom of the pecking order in our flock. She is also the largest hen which I find interesting. I have seen other hens peck at her and she tolerates it. I kept saying if you just stick up for yourself just once it will probably stop. Unfortunately, she does not understand what I am saying, ha-ha! Each time I would see it happen I would intervene, however, we are not around 24/7 to monitor them so
Cory and I had to go back to the drawing board.
  The feathers at the top of Cleo's tail are missing. This is a common place for hens to peck. I did quite a bit of research on this topic to understand why this is happening, how to fix it and how to prevent it going forward. A ton of other flocksters had pecking occur in the same area of their hens so we were not alone which is reassuring. At first I felt like we were doing something wrong. Do the girls not have enough food and water? Yes, plenty. Do they need more space? No, free range is their daily routine. Are they getting enough protein and nutrients? Yes! So what is it then? Time to test some different solutions out and wait to see which one sticks.
  We purchased a hen saddle for Cleo that lays across her back and covers up her tail so the hens can no longer see the bare skin and would hopefully stop pecking her. Honestly, it worked. She looked adorable and it was protecting her enough so she could heal and allow her feathers to grow back.
 Things were going great, until they weren't. One of our Rhode Island Reds has it out for Cleo. The reason why we still have not figured out. Cleo had the feathers of her under belly plucked out and it created a pretty big wound. I felt and still feel terrible that it happened. This poor girl cannot catch a break. We brought her inside, cleaned and disinfected the wound. We then sprayed Blu-Kote on it. An antiseptic spray that sanitizes the wound, stops the bleeding and helps the healing process. This stuff is the real deal.
 Cleo is currently separated from the other girls again and she will be for a few more weeks until her feathers grow back and her wound is fully healed. The re-introduction of her to the coop again will be a process. We need to make sure this issue does not keep happening. I am hopeful that the long time apart the hens will forget the situation and we will be good to go. Another option is to remove the bird who is causing the issues and let the flock develop a new pecking order with Cleo involved and then try adding the trouble maker back in. Potentially having that hen be at the bottom of the pecking order in a peaceful way. I have learned that sometimes raising chickens can have stressful situations and you have to test different scenarios out until something works. We just need to keep in mind that we will figure it out!

   

To Molt or not to Molt...

Once you chickens are over a year old they will begin to go through a phase called Molting. This is where their current feathers fall out and new feathers grow in. The entire process can vary per bird. It is said that your most prominent layers will molt the fastest as opposed to your infrequent layers they will molt the longest. This could vary from a few weeks to months depending on your hens.
  During this time there could be a significant decrease in egg production. Hens use a lot of effort and protein in their bodies to develop the new feathers and push them out to be full grown. Therefore, the protein they use to generate eggs is supplemented to complete the molting process. We have noticed that some hens, such as our White Leghorns continue to lay as they molt. My assumption is because they are such a fantastic egg laying breed that they are able to multi-task. Where as our Australorps are molting the hardest. They have been molting for months now and do not tell them I said this but, they have looked better. Poor girls!
  Molting typically starts from the neck and works its way down the body. You will not have a fully naked chickens running around. I chuckle just at the thought of that! But they will have bare spots. Our Australorps do not have many feathers on their neck. It looks incredibly strange, almost to the point where you think they are ill but I can assure you they are happy as can be!
   During the molting season we mix our feed with layer feed and feather fixer. The laying feed will help give them the calcium and other nutrients they need for their laying and the feather fixer will increase their protein consumption to help them grow new feathers.
 In an effort to make sure their protein levels stay high, every few days I will give them plain yogurt. Recently I started giving them plain Greek yogurt because the levels of protein in it is incredibly high. I also make scrambled eggs and mix in sunflower seed and chopped non-salted peanuts to give them an extra boost.
   There are a few signs you can look for to see if you need to included these other protein options for your hens. The hens will begin to crack and eat the eggs they lay in the egg boxes. Granted this sometimes occurs by mistake. One gets stepped on and breaks so they eat it. Other times it is intentional because they are seeking calcium from the shell and protein from the egg itself. Other clues are the chickens will start eating the feathers off the ground that others have shed. Or they will start plucking the feathers from one another and consuming them. It does not sound pleasant but protein is what they are searching for.
   I should also mention that before your hens go through their adult molt each year they do molt a few times as youngsters. When they are baby chicks they molt their down and grow their first round of feathers. They then molt their teenage feathers to get their adult feathers. The first few molts are not as intense or as noticeable.
  Molting is an uncomfortable process for hens so the best thing we can do it make sure they have access to proper food, water and shelter. They can take care of the rest! Happy Molting! 
  
 

Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite

This topic is not going to be the most glamorous posting I have ever written, however, it is an important one. Mites. Tiny, microscopic creatures that are harmless to humans but can be quiet an annoyance to chickens.
  No matter how clean your coop is, rest assured that every flockster at one point or another will experience mites in their coops/runs. It stinks, it's gross, but it happens and you're not alone. I wanted to provide everyone with some tips and tricks that I have learned along the way on how to correct the situation.
  It is hard to determine if you have mites in your coop because they are incredibly difficult to see due to their size. Some tell tale signs that you have a mite issue is by being observant of your birds. If they are plucking feathers or constantly preening/nibbling themselves you might have a mite issue. You can always check around a chickens vent area or under their wings to see if you can see the mites because that is typically where they "hang out."
  The one time we thought we had a mite issue, which we were never able to really confirm, we did the next few steps to resolve the issue. I will admit at first that I was itching myself because it gave me the creeps me out but it really is not that bad.  If you act on it you can get your birds back to being comfortable and happy.
  First thing you will want to do is clean out your coop and run completely and dispose of any bedding/straw. Once the coop is cleaned out I run a shop vac throughout the whole thing sucking up any dust, left over bedding or debris that is inside the coop.
  At your local tractor supply store or online I would purchase two items. A poultry protector spray and a garden/poultry dust. The spray will say on the label that it is meant to kill mites etc. The poultry protector spray by Manna does not have any harsh chemicals in it so it is safe to use on and around birds.  The garden/poultry dust that we purchased was made by Y-Tex. Sevin is also a great brand you can use. This dust is put directly on the chickens, usually around the vent area. It will suffocate and kill any mites that are on the hens body. Both of these products are safe so you do not have to dispose of any eggs during this process. If you were to use a heavy chemically dosed product you will want to dispose the eggs per the directions on the bottle. I like to keep things as natural as I can for the hens while receiving effective results.
 Spray the poultry protector all over inside the coop. Try and get into the tight spaces where mites enjoy living. Once sprayed all over, let it air out and dry. Place brand new pine shavings into the coop and mix in food grade diatomaceous earth. DE is great for keeping bedding dry and for keeping insects away from the coop. There is a balance of how much to mix because you do not want the bedding to be too dry. Start with a small amount, you can always add more. I use 1 cup inside the coop to start. Our coop is 36 square feet to give you an idea of how much to use.
  We then spread DE around the entire outside of the coop and all over the run. You can also use the garden dust and sprinkle that around the run as well and inside the coop if you would like. The garden dust is then dusted onto every hen. I do this every day for about a week just to be safe that the mites are killed. If one bird has mites, treat them all as it will spread.
  If you feel that one bird has it worse than others you can always give that hen a bath. Pick up a bottle of mite or lice animal shampoo and bathe the hen using that product. I bought a brand that is used on cats and dogs which worked out perfectly. It is made with oatmeal which is great for the skin.
   Also, to prevent mite issues make sure your hens have access to dust or dirt baths. This is the way hens maintain a healthy skin themselves.

The dirt and dust they bathe in kills the mites the same way the store bought dust does by suffocating the mites. Luckily, our hens like to take dust baths regularly to help prevent us from having any issues.
   As stated before, every flockster will have this issue. Other animals around the coop area bring the mites in so do not feel that you have failed or that your coop is not clean. You're doing great and the treatment process it easy, affordable and effective!