Baby (ish) Feather Picker :(

[chickienewbie88]

I have 6 wyandotte pulletts, one silver laced and the rest gold laced that were hatched on March 16 so they are 3 months old.. i moved them to their outdoor coop about a month ago and within the last 2 weeks ive noticed feather loss.. It started on one and now theres two, possibly 3 who are losing feathers on the base of their tail feathers- leaving fluff in those spots. Ive thoroughly checked them for lice/fleas/mites and cant find a thing, nor have i seen them digging/scratching/ etc... its getting progressively worse and a couple of days ago i noticed the one who first started losing feathers had a small amount of blood.. it isnt noticable through her other feathers though, only after you move the other feathers out of the way and inspect the skin.. there are a few drops of blood and broken quills. I caught my silver laced pecking one of the affected birds though so im thinking shes a feather picker.. im feeding 18% flock raiser. Their coop is 4x5 feet with a large roosting ladder (they arent using it though, just sleeping in a pile by the door), 4 nesting boxes (they arent laying yet though), and their enclosed run is 4x9 with a ladder and branches, plus there are lots of worms, bugs, etc they dig at throughout the day.. the heat and humidity has been really high here lately and i know we have a bit of a mosquito problem, as we live close to the river.. not sure if any of these things would affect this behavior.. this is my first flock so any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I have 6 wyandotte pulletts, one silver laced and the rest gold laced that were hatched on March 16 so they are 3 months old.. i moved them to their outdoor coop about a month ago and within the last 2 weeks ive noticed feather loss.. It started on one and now theres two, possibly 3 who are losing feathers on the base of their tail feathers- leaving fluff in those spots. Ive thoroughly checked them for lice/fleas/mites and cant find a thing, nor have i seen them digging/scratching/ etc... its getting progressively worse and a couple of days ago i noticed the one who first started losing feathers had a small amount of blood.. it isnt noticable through her other feathers though, only after you move the other feathers out of the way and inspect the skin.. there are a few drops of blood and broken quills. I caught my silver laced pecking one of the affected birds though so im thinking shes a feather picker.. im feeding 18% flock raiser. Their coop is 4x5 feet with a large roosting ladder (they arent using it though, just sleeping in a pile by the door), 4 nesting boxes (they arent laying yet though), and their enclosed run is 4x9 with a ladder and branches, plus there are lots of worms, bugs, etc they dig at throughout the day.. the heat and humidity has been really high here lately and i know we have a bit of a mosquito problem, as we live close to the river.. not sure if any of these things would affect this behavior.. this is my first flock so any advice is greatly appreciated.

Your coop and run are a bit small for the number of birds you have - and overcrowding is often the root cause of negative behaviors such as picking. You have 20 square feet of coop space and 36 square feet of run space - meaning just over 3 feet inside and 6 feet per bird outside - that is before deducting the space occupied by feed and water station(s). What size was the brooder they were in? Do you allow them any time outside of the enclosed run during the day and, if so, how many hours per day are they not confined?

 

[chickienewbie88]

Their feeder and water are both hung from the front of their coop so they can get around and/or under them. Their "step-up" brooder (i started with a large storage tote when they were little and moved them up at 3 weeks) was a 110 gal. livestock watering bin (never been used for livestock? Bought only to be a large brooder) in which i provided a small roost, 3 water nipple bottles, a feeder, and we crafted a "lid" with furing strips and screen so they couldnt escape when they started flying. They had significantly less room in there and yet there was never any picking behavior.. only after i moved them outside to their coop. We currently do not let them free range, solely because we are trying to get them adjusted to their new coop so that, once they are free ranged, they always return home for the night. And like i said before, they arent really using most of the space in their actual coop, only huddling together just inside the doorway when it gets dark.

 

[chickienewbie88]

Also, in my coop, my 4 nesting boxes are built out from the main coop space, 2 feet deep and 4 feet wide, so does that add to my square footage? Counting those boxes, the coop space is 4x7 (4 1/2 feet tall) and has a large ladder running the entire width and height of the coop from opposite corners..

 

[Mrs. K]

I agree with the Old Grey Mare, and your space issue is going to get a bit worse, as at 3 months they are not quite to full size.

There is a contraption called pinless peepers, that some people have had good luck with. Personally I would cull the picker, and I would do it quickly. That would bring your number of birds down to a better level with the square footage that you have, but if not, try the peepers. However, I would do it ASAP as these bad habits are darn hard to get rid of.

Mrs K

 

[eviemethugh]

You could give them all of the space in the world...they still pile on each other. And stay close to eachother while eating and foraging. I don't have a problem with the amount of space they have right now. But as they fill out it might start to be tight. IF one of them is a picker you will probably want to consider selling it or trading.

 

[chickienewbie88]

I checked them out again this evening and now 5 of the 6 are starting to have feather loss in the exact same spot, including the one i believed to be the picker.. the quills look broken at the skin or an inch or so long.. the first girl who started the feather loss is now almost completely bald in that spot (cant see this until you move the feathers on her back out of the way) and there was no blood on any of them.
Also, before i moved them outside they were nearly shoulder to shoulder in their brooder (it was taking longer than we expected to get the coop finished) and they had no problems with picking each other. This only started about a week or so after i moved them outside. Would they be partially molting this young? I just dont feel like the picking theory is the culprit now after watching them for awhile and looking them over, but i could also be wrong- this IS my first flock after all...

 

[eviemethugh]

I was kind of wondering about a predator, but it would be weird for them to have the missing patch in the same area on each one. Sometimes a raccoon can reach just a hand in and cause light damage, but I'm not sure that is what is happening here.
Umm is it possible #6 is a little boy who is just super excited to try out mating?

 

[chickienewbie88]

They were purchased at one day old as pullets from a hatchery and all seem to be mostly identical developmentally.. no crowing.. i live in a dense little neighborhood and havent seen or heard of any predators in our area.. we've been trapping for rats (successfully), not sure if they could have done this? We do have a rather large wild bird population, as we are surrounded by mountains and my yard is the only one with lots of trees.. im just so confused by this whole situation..

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

You could give them all of the space in the world...they still pile on each other. And stay close to eachother while eating and foraging. I don't have a problem with the amount of space they have right now. But as they fill out it might start to be tight. IF one of them is a picker you will probably want to consider selling it or trading.

The birds, however, do - as evidenced by the development of behaviors that are associated with the stress related to overcrowded conditions. While it is true you can provide more space and see birds occupy only a portion of it - the difference is, at times when they need to be able to move away from one another, that additional space allows them the ability to do so vs. being confined in a space to small to allow for it.