Bald spots

[TOMTE]

The advice I give everyone is this: clutter the run up so much that you can hardly maneuver around. Perches, things to hide in and under. Mature chicken safe potted plants (potted just because it's harder for the chickens to dig the plants up that way) are excellent. Personally my chickens love tomato plants to lay under and snack on the maters. Ferns are amazing for shade and shelter. Woody stem plants like blueberry bushes. The more clutter the better and you can use stuff like step ladders, dog crates, wood pallets, etc but chickens definitely prefer natural things. But anything you have is better than nothing!

 

[coach723]

I think I would try raising one of the roosts in the coop up a bit higher, maybe lower the other one a bit, depending on how high they are now. That will give a little more separation and make them less face to face or butt to face. I have my roosts stair stepped up in 3 levels and rarely have issues with feather picking on the roosts. And they can stair step down so as to not have to jump a long distance. My first coop all roosts were at the same level, and it was more of a problem.

 

[SemiSweet2391]

For enrichment- I like using green things. Like a tree branch (with leaves) bouquets of herbs, green veggies like kale or flowers from the garden and I hang it- so they have to climb or jump for it. Gives them lots to do.

Ok, I can add that!

 

[SemiSweet2391]

The advice I give everyone is this: clutter the run up so much that you can hardly maneuver around. Perches, things to hide in and under. Mature chicken safe potted plants (potted just because it's harder for the chickens to dig the plants up that way) are excellent. Personally my chickens love tomato plants to lay under and snack on the maters. Ferns are amazing for shade and shelter. Woody stem plants like blueberry bushes. The more clutter the better and you can use stuff like step ladders, dog crates, wood pallets, etc but chickens definitely prefer natural things. But anything you have is better than nothing!

Ok, I love the potted plant idea! Thanks for the ideas and tips.

 

[SemiSweet2391]

I think I would try raising one of the roosts in the coop up a bit higher, maybe lower the other one a bit, depending on how high they are now. That will give a little more separation and make them less face to face or butt to face. I have my roosts stair stepped up in 3 levels and rarely have issues with feather picking on the roosts. And they can stair step down so as to not have to jump a long distance. My first coop all roosts were at the same level, and it was more of a problem.

Ok, easy enough fix! Thanks for the help.

 

[SemiSweet2391]

So @TOMTE and @coach723 , what I’m understanding is that adding some enrichment and clutter and fixing the roost bars will cut down on the feather picking and improve my hens’ quality of life?

 

[coach723]

That is the hope. Every group of birds is different, different personalities and temperaments. Sometimes you have to think outside the box, and remember that 'recommendations' are just recommendations, and what works for your particular birds might be different than what works for someone else's. The basics are always a good place to start, boredom and over crowding are very common issues that cause the most problems, so helping with space and enrichment are usually the best things to try first.

 

[SemiSweet2391]

That is the hope. Every group of birds is different, different personalities and temperaments. Sometimes you have to think outside the box, and remember that 'recommendations' are just recommendations, and what works for your particular birds might be different than what works for someone else's. The basics are always a good place to start, boredom and over crowding are very common issues that cause the most problems, so helping with space and enrichment are usually the best things to try first.

Great, thank you very much!

 

[TOMTE]

Good luck! Honestly I love adding new things for my girls to check out and watch them investigate. During the warmer months (mid spring to mid fall) I let my chickens range on the property so they hardly quarrel, they're so busy foraging all day. When they have to be shut in the run for winter is when the problems come out, because they're bored and probably stressed out. 5 standard sized chickens confined to a ~18ft by ~8ft run after months of having free range of the property has to be like hell for them BUT! I found that the more clutter they have, the more things they have to do, the less issues they have with each other!