Do you think this will help them?

[Hennyhandler]

My chickens still haven't recovered from feather loss from the rooster and though I put them in saddles they are very good at escaping them. SO of course the other chickens are going to pull out any progress. (Or at least I assume that is what is happening.) So I put the saddles back on and it starts all over. One or two have gotten them back but sometimes they are missing just a few. Anyway, to help them out could I buy that Manna Pro gamebird conditioner to hellp grow some feathers?

 

[Judy]

There are a lot of possibilities here. At the beginning of the emergencies section there is a list of questions; some of their answers would be helpful.

I had one bird last year who got her feathers pulled out on her back. I cut an oval out of polatfleece then cut two holes for the wings, and put it on her. I left it on her for months and she never paid any attention to it, except maybe for the first day, and even then she never removed it, just pulled at it a little. When I took it off, her feathers had grown back, and that was some months ago, and her feathers are still there.

 

[dawg53]

You can use diaper pins to keep the saddles on, they work great. I had to order them off ebay though.

 

[Tropical Chickies]

I have a similar problem with one of my hens. I was wondering about the gamebird conditioner myself.

 

[Kim_NC]

Any feed high in protein helps feather regrowth, and reduces picking by other flockmates. The main 'ingredient' in feather is protein. The more protein in the diet, the easier t is for the birds to make feathers. And, the less birds pick each other in a 'quest' for protein.

I always feed 28% game bird crumbles to molting birds or hens missing feathers. Often I make a wet mash of it by mixing with water (reduces waste). The chickens love it and consider it a big treat. In Winter, I feed it daily and use hot water to mix - the hens gobble it up like hot cereal. A word of caution if you wet crumbles - only feed what they'll finish in 20-30 minutes. Leftovers are not good - they get hard or even moldy if laying left around long enough.

I also give treats of cat food (35% protein) to molting birds. Careful though - it's higher in salt, so feed a large handful as a treat to 3-4 birds, not a whole bunch at once nad never free choice like their regular feed.

Isolating hens while they regrow feathers will also help.

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Boiled Eggs and Scrambled eggs have lots of protein, Black Oil Sunflower seeds are great, too!
Mix Gamebird or Showbird crumbleds w/ BOSS and any other healthy protein foods. Cottage Cheese is good too - also chicken and turkey meat is good for them as well.