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how can i stop my chooks pecking each other? 2 of them are almost oven ready!!!!!!

hi kitty&eric - how long have you had them?

Oh it's not funny...but I almost wet myself with the 'oven ready' comment!

It depends on how long you've had them, it's not called "the pecking order" for nothing . Are they ex-batts? The "peckers" might have been at the back of the queue when it comes to getting food, so have the habit of pecking the other birds to get them out of the way - hence the bare backs, necks etc. I think I'd try distracting them when I see it happening, and perhaps put out 2 or more food and water containers so that the aggression when feeding can be minimised. Just a thought anyway. Think also that you might just need a lot of time and patience

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i have had them about 2 months, they all arrived at the same time. it seems that the 2 white ones and the ginger one pick on the 2 back ones and grey one.

I'd go with the extra trough space, also try putting the on dry mash - this will keep them occupied for more of the day. The other thing you can tried is anti pek spray. This smells pretty awful to prevent the birds from pecking but also covers any white fleshy areas. Birds once seeing flesh will unfortuantely become worse and if blood is drawn will pretty much eat the poor sole alive.

If you can work out which birds are doing the pecking, take them out and put them on their own for several days. When they are re-introduced to the flock they will be at the lower end of the pecking order and it should hopefully stop.

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