Does Blue-Kote actually work for PECKING?

[ThePolishPrincess]

Having a bit of a pecking problem here-my Polish are being pecked mostly from the beard, but also a tiny bit from the crest (front, near the comb, not the back, where it usually happens). We have Blue-Kote, but the last time I used it, not only did it not work on my rooster, but it turned him blue.

It's been almost a year since I used it last and it's gathering dust in my basement. But I'm hesitating on giving it a try on my Polish, at risk of having more blue birds, who still aren't healed.

People have said it works wonders for pecking, and others say it does nothing, because it's meant to heal wounds, not protect them. (Which I agree with, as it was healing my rooster, but obviously did not stop the pecking.) Anyone have any success? And if not...what works the best? I'm tired of spending money on things that don't work, and pine tar is currently my next try.

 

[horsefeathers09]

I found the only hing that 100% works is removing the bird thats causing the problem! I moved my RIR to the barn two weeks ago where she now lives alone. Peaceful.

 

[chickenjones]

This begs another question on my part. We are integrating 6 pullets (3 months old) into our flock of 6 hens and two roos. The only problem we are having is from the top two hens. They are just bossy to everyone. They have pecked the newbies on their combs and one where the skin is near ear hole (if that makes sense). For some reason I have two top hens. There is an obvious leader in the roos and they get along. I have 6 hens and its apparent for some reason there are two at the top of the pecking order. They are totally bossing around the babies and generally scaring the chicken poo out of them.

My question is this: I know pecking order has to be established but how much is too much as far as pecking? I have blue Kote as well and doctored them with it but my DH says it won't help pecking. Should I be removing the two mean hens? Will splitting them up help (the two hens)? Each time I remove one of them a new pecking order begins right? So it might not fix anything?

I am new to chickens (since last July). We were given some laying hens and they all got along great. The whole flock except our RIR was taken/killed by a neighbors dog so we started over. We have four wyandottes and two EE mixes that were recently added. That didn't seem to cause any problems. They just took their place at the bottom of the pecking order.

The six we are trying to add are young but they are brahmas and just about as big as the wyandottes and definitely as big as the the EE mixes. I don't know what to do. My DH and I both work during the day so I am afraid to leave them together all day long. The chicks might be their size but they act like they are still tiny chicks. Any suggestions?

 

[ThePolishPrincess]

I wanted to rid myself of the bullying hens months ago but my parents refuse to get rid of them.

I literally cannot get rid of them.

As for the integration problem, I've added and removed birds from my group before and have typically found that ANY pecking is too much pecking. It's a nasty problem, that will start with one picked-on bird and travel to as many as the whole flock! It really sucks-because there are so many options, hence why I made this thread.

As for screwing up the pecking order and hoping they establish it on better terms, been there, done that. Still didn't work. The longer a bird pecks another, the less hope there is of breaking them on it. It's really sad, because for almost 2 years we were able to keep Polish in our flock with no pecking and it was great. And now all of a sudden...

My flock has a long history of pecking, so actually getting rid of the problem will be hard. For the birds who are being picked on the back, I use saddles, and they really help. I just with there was a way to protect the faces of my Polish...For good measure, I guess I'll try the Blue-Kote anyway. If it doesn't fix the problem, at least my birds will still have healing help.

 

[yotetrapper]

I'm a believer in blue kote. My duck managed to get caught in the fencing last summer, and the chickens pecked a huge hole in him. I blue-koted him, and since I had no where else to put him, left him there and went to work. Figured he'd be dead when I got home, but when I got home he was running around, acting fine. The chickens never picked on him again. I've since blue-koted every cut and scrape I see, and they dont pick them. I can;t vouch for picking in general, but if there a raw red spot, blue-kote does wonders! It will however turn the birds, you, the grass, the trees and everything within a half a mile purple. LOL

 

[SpringChickens]

I've found that Blu-Kote works best on DARK colored birds. It works by concealing the color difference; i.e. you have a black bird with pale white skin showing, and you have spot practically begging to be pecked at. Spray it with blu-kote, and the color difference is MUCH less obvious. If you spray it on a white bird, you only added to the color contrast and may even make the pecking worse.

 

[lilblessings5]

I have not had any luck with Blu-Kote for elimanating pecking.

But What Springchickens says seems to make sense and now that I think about it maybe that is why it never worked for me.


Personally-I've had such an issue w/cannibalism in the past that if I could isolate it to just one bird - I would cull him/her so fast! Because what I've found is that it just spreads through the entire flock and its just not worth it.
chicken pecking and cannibalism is extremely stressful on us human beings! lol

 

[sonew123]

Quote:
yes!!!! I have had to seperate my polish guy twice hes gorgeous when he is not pecked to pieces. The whole female flock go at him when they see blood! I cant cull them-he is seperated again-Im trying to re-home him:-(

 

[CityChook]

Blue Kote did not work when I had some cabin-fever pecking problems last winter. But it sure did a great job of staining my jeans and never coming out.

 

[chickenjones]

ah...never thought about the color of my chickens. I have light Brahmas...drat.