5 week old chicks pecking and eating feathers!

[chickengeorgeto]

I'm going to try to get the Pinless peepers and find the product the makes the feathers unpalatable, I've heard of something like it but I too don't recall the name....

-Crysta

If the chicks in the picture are the two you posted about, I don't think that peepers will fit them for several months yet. Get the Blue Coat now and keep the peepers in the back of your mind for future use. Also try feeding each peep a 1/2 table spoon of raw ground beef or canned salmon every day. The way to a chicken's heart is through its stomach, hens are like men in that reguard.

I doubt that filing the beak of what you consider the offending bird will make you any feathered friends. On the contrary, the so called bully chick may poison your relationship with the other (s) chickens as the "bully" communicates its new found fear of you to the rest of the flock. For millions of years now and counting, all the chickens that failed to become alarmed when a fellow flock member became frightened ended up as predator poo.

 

[crazyfeathers]

Hi, I purchased some SLW, Jaerhons, Black Astrolorps, and some D'Ucles from an auction. The astrolorps and SLW were the worst at pulling out and eating the other pullets feathers. My fix was more room and segregation for long periods of time. I believe that where ever they came from they were overcrowded and possibly malnourished. I would say it took 3 months to correct the feather pulling and eating.. all my girls are fully feathered now but boy when I got them their back sides were bald.

 

[write2caroline]

Mine picked feathers when they were locked in too small a space. I have two bantams and 4 standards. They got to the point where they needed more space and I had to take the big pullets out. They leave each other alone now. They stil all sleep together in the coop but each day I let the standards out into the run. I had more bantams but something was picking off my bantams so now I keep them in the coop until I can finish their enclosed run to keep them safe.
Caroline