Daisy was enjoying a nice quiet dustbath when Gozzie arrived
and shoved her out
She was not amused!
Have you noticed their new nose jobs?
I have fitted them all with anti pecking rings - as one or more of them keep plucking the feathers from the game birds necks!
Zola was next for the bath - you can see a video of her here
She bathed for ages - about half a hour then just dozed in the sunshine.
The anti-pecking rings don't stop them doing anything they would normally do, except being able to pluck out feathers. Once the girls feathers have grown back I will gradually remove the rings and hopefully the plucking will have stopped.
I have tried using sprays - very expensive and smelly ones at that - but as soon as the feathers grow back the plucking starts.
I saw Poppy doing it when the girls were sunbathing once - they didn't seem to mind - but you have to be careful in case it becomes a habit and their 'cannibal' nature 'kicks in' - then it becomes a serious problem.
It's the first time I have ever had a feather plucking problem amongst chickens - maybe it's just the Sebrights that do it - it's the first time I have had that breed
We shall see.
If you have a picking problem you need to find out why...Maybe more calcium or try putting a tablespoon of apple cider vinger in their water for a few days and as a added bonus your water for your chickens will not turn green in warm weather.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lot has been going on in your garden, it looks brilliant. You must be thrilled!
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