Can feather picking be stopped?

[BeardedLadyFarm]

I just "rescued" three 3 week old chicks from some clean but overcrowded conditions at the feed store.

The Buckeye was somewhat picked on, but the BA and the California White were in pretty good shape. Now the Buckeye is picking feathers of the BA and starting on the other. She eats the feathers, and other feathers she finds on the ground.

I have separated them, and I've been giving her extra protein (egg, mealworms, yogurt). Can this behavior be stopped? I've decided not to keep her, but I don't want to give her away to someone and have her pick their birds too.

 

[raspeary]

some people say rooster booster pick no more will work.

To heal the injured one, clean it out with betadine and put a little blu-kote on it. (I used a cotton ball. I sprayed some on the cotton ball and then dab the chick.) Blu-kote might stop the pecking but most likely not. I had an injured girl and when she was healed and when i tried to reintegrate her, the other chickens went right for her neck where she was injured. I put bag balm on her neck even though it was healed to stop the pecking. It seemed to work pretty good.

Just ideas...hopefully someone else will chime in.

 

[BeardedLadyFarm]

Thanks for the suggestion.

The injuries are quite minor at this point, and the offender doesn't seem to be picky about where she picks. There is one little bald spot on the BA, but she goes after tails, wings, and toes too.

I was just reading how Buckeyes are known to never pick on others. I beg to differ!

 

[toletiquesbysam]

My rooster was getting picked on, he had a bloody bare bottom numerous times. I would take him out and get him healed and then put him back and I did this 3 times and now everyone is OK. So I think what your doing is good, when you do put them back together just watch closely and if you see any signs of it happening, separate again. If it continues and it's the same chicken doing it, then I'd suggest re-homing the chicken.

 

[Freyja]

I've read here on BYC that when chickens do this they might need more protein in their diet.

When I brought my chicks home from the feed store, one RIR chick was pecking everyone, mostly beaks and eyes, not feathers. I'd been using an incandescent light and several people recommended a red light which worked wonders. I put her in 'chick jail' for one night and have been using the red light and have had no problems since.

ETA: whoops, just saw that you've already been feeding extra protein!

 

[~*Sweet Cheeks*~]

RED light - very calming.

Put in a little mirror and/or shiny things to attract the chick to them and not other chicks.

Put in some sod or hunks of grass with a little dirt attached for them to scratch.

Put in roosts or flat topped rocks for them to climb on.

Good luck with your little ones.

 

[BeardedLadyFarm]

Thanks for all the tips. They're almost fully feathered, and spending the days outside now, so the red light isn't much of an option. I've been giving them lots of greens and veggies and meal worms, and anything else to entertain them. They are now separated by some wire mesh in the brooder, so they feel like they're together, but no more damage can be done.

They've been running in the yard together without incident.

Maybe after a few more days of extra protein the little Buckeye will feel better about life. She had a rough start.

That said, I'm getting rid of her! She's a little too spunky for my quiet outlaw flock! I hope I can rehabilitate her before passing her on.