Blu-kote backfired - help! (pics added)

[karmical]

Hey out there -

So, I was having some feather picking issues and decided to try the blu-kote as some suggested, but when I put my girl back in with the other birds, they were instantly drawn to the blue and ALL started picking her REALLY bad....I had to take her right out again.

Now I have a SF with a blue beard and nexk that's attracting picking like never before and I'm not sure what to do. I tried to rinse it, but I can't seem to get it out. Plus, her skin where she's been picked bald is all blue.

Oy! I thought I was helping her, but seem to have made matters worse. Has this ever happened to anybody else? I have her inside the house at the moment, waiting to see how things look once she dries out, which could take a day or more...(tried the blow dryer, but it didn't do much good before she stopped tolerating it)

Any suggestions you might have would be GREAT!!! Thanks

 

[dlhunicorn]

What other measures did you try?
It could well be boredom...overcrowding...a deficency of a specific amino acid (a specific protein) called METHIONINE .... or any combination of the three.
I would get a supplement specifically for molting birds (if your feed store does not have this look at your pet store in the cage bird section) and ensure that it specifically mentions METHIONINE in the ingredients. You will need this for a real deficiency though adding things such as scrambled egg, yogurt, sunflower seed hearts have a bit of methionine in them.
I would also get a melon of some type, cut it in half and use the hollow section as a "bowl" and put your feed in there (you will need more than one to keep them from fighting over it ...place them well apart from each other. Red and green are colors that stimulate pecking so getting a green or red type melon if possible will encourage them to peck at the melon and not each other). If not a melon you can wrap something like a head of endive in chicken wire and hang it (again you might want to offer more than one so they will not fight over it)

 

[Cara]

BTW never use Blu-Kote on any bird you may eat or sell for eating in the future.

 

[karmical]

Thanks for the suggestions

They aren't overcrowded (I only have 7 chickens...their coop is 12 x 10 and run is 10x10) and they only pick on my two SF's...specifically their beards. Now that the beard is purple from the blu-kote the picking is worse than ever.

Cara - Does Blu-kote have any effect on the eggs? Still OK to eat those?

 

[silkiechicken]

Is your SF low on the order? I used blue kote on some of mine and they ended up fine... just blue till moult. How about hot peck?

 

[karmical]

Hi Silkie

The SF's are in the middle of the pecking order.

Not sure what "hot peck" is....Just googled it and didn't find anything...

 

[SpottedCrow]

It's a hot pepper derived spray to prevent them from pecking each other.
I've used better bitters too...

 

[Cara]

I couldn't tell you for sure, according to our vet it's not approved for use in birds and not recommended. It can't be used in any animal destined for human consumption, ie cattle, horses or swine, and it would be in much higher concentrations in the body of a chicken than a large animal.

I used Rooster Booster Pick No More on my Cornish Xs and it worked with one application. It's naturally based so no worries of contamination.

http://www.roosterboosterproducts.com/site/681439/page/207491

 

[Mac]

I sprayed Blu-Kote on one of my bird's back and had no other pecking issues. The rest of the flock (8) left her alone. My next step was to get a saddle for my then picked hen. You might think about a saddle for yours, covering her back.

Blu-Kote takes a long time to disappear from skin. Trust me on this one, I sprayed my own face (smile). Not to mention my hands, the hen and my white coop.......

 

[karmical]

Hmmm....I wonder why MY girls are so drawn to the blue color!?!

I'm going to put her back when it gets to be roosting time and see what happens. She's still soaking wet, but she's ALWAYS soaking wet. I am SO tempted to just trim her beard.

If the other birds that peck her ingest some of the "blu-koted" feathers, do you think I should worry about eating those eggs? In other words...think something could pass through to their eggs from the blu-kote that would make the eggs no good for eating?