Review: Pinless Peepers

   As many of you probably know, we have been having some winter-time problems. (You can go to my last post to read more about it). We needed a solution, and fast.

   About two weeks ago, the chickens went crazy again. This time their target was Daisy, my sweet Buff Orpington. Just like Raven before her, they tore her skin down to the muscle. We knew we had to stop this before it happened again.

   So we ordered "Pinless Peepers".

   This is a small, plastic blinder that was specifically made to stop chicken pecking problems. I had heard of them in the past, but never thought I would need them. 

   They were actually very cheap! We were able to get about twelve peepers and the pliers to apply them for under ten dollars. (Some people say you can do without the pliers, but I found them very useful.)

   So, how you actually get these on a chicken is the hard part. First of all, you need two people. One to hold the bird, one to hold the pliers. 

   You use the pliers to spread open the Peeper. This is a lot easier if you soak the peapers in warm water first.

The two little pins on the back should open.

   Then, one pin goes in each nostril. It is easier to get one in one nostril then get the other over the other. Then you can release the tool, and the second goes in. 

   It sounds easy, but the chicken, unsurprisingly, does NOT like it. 

   We only had to put three of these on. One for Piper. One for Raven. One for Speckles. Some people put it on all of their chickens, but we only put it on the trouble-makers. 

   It only blocks the very front of their vision. They can still eat, drink, preen, and scratch. They just can't see bare spots on the other chickens. 

   We finally had a nice day, but Piper was the only one who felt like posing for me (sigh)...

   She looks pretty funny, but all of the chickens got used to the Peepers very quickly! At first the chickens with them on, shook their heads and wiped their heads on the ground. The other chickens pecked at them a bit, too. 

   Although it is hard to tell since they haven't been on long, the Peepers seem to be working! We haven't had an incident since they have been on and even feather-picking has stopped! Our whole flock (including Speckles) can finally all be together!

   As I said, these were definitely last resort. I would never have used them unless we had serious problems. This is the only time I would recommend them. I definitely thing you should try all else before using these. However, they DO work in serious situations.

   I hope this was helpful to you guys and I will see you next week!


Note: Chicken Blinders are very different than "Pinless Peepers". Other types look like these but have a pin that gets pushed through one nostril and out the other. You have to push this through a membrane that separates them. PinLESS are a lot easier and (in my mind) more humane.