Feather-Picking! 3-Month Epidemic.

[Debutante]

Separate out your unpecked birds; they are very likely the culprits. Do it now! Then, make sure there's no bird with wounds, because as everyone mentioned, things can go south really fast. Spend time watching the group to ID any other 'peckers' and separate them too. If you have a game camera, set it up out there.
I agree about having more space! A bigger roofed space is essential in winter, or anytime they are in lockdown, for any reason.
About breeds; sex-links and any production reds, in my experience, can be the worst offenders. Are they in your flock? Just wondering.
Having a peaceful flock is worth it; stressed birds are miserable, and the situation needs to be fixed. Removing difficult individuals is the best plan here.
Mary

Hi Mary, Thank you very much for your reply and suggestions!
No reds here, the breeds I have in my flock are: Buff Orpingtons; Black Australorps; Welsummer; Dominique; and Easter Eggers. Interestingly, the breeds seem to keep to themselves but unfortunately, the pecking damage affects certain members of all the breeds. :-(
During the day, they seem pretty “relaxed” and don’t peck each other much at all, so whatever is going on, is definitely happening in the coop and probably as they jostle for position as they roost. A trail-cam is a GREAT idea. I have no problem getting rid of some birds if I can identify the bullies/culprits/nasty brutes.
THANK YOU for taking the time to reply to my post!!!

 

[dunnmom]

I feel for you. I know how stressed out your birds and you are right now. I had my own pecking/plucking issue last year, only with a flock half the size of yours, and no adverse weather to blame. I don't have any good advice, I think you've already gotten the best possible from others. Hang in there, you will figure out what needs to be done.

 

[Debutante]

I would agree with separating out those birds that are in 'perfect' feather. They are most likely the worst feather pluckers. If all else fails, Pinless Peepers (do an on site search) can be applied. They can be removed once the problem has resolved. Good luck in reaching a resolution to this bad habit.

Hi Sourland, Thanks for your response. I got a real kick out of your name and description! I am living in Sour Land at the moment and could sure use a bit of Magic!
I agree with what you and others have said about isolating all the birds who are still in perfect or near-perfect feather. It makes sense that they'd be the instigators, although it makes me nervous that some might be just extra-good at non-confrontational cohabitation/avoidance. I'd hate to put those "loners" in with the pack of nasty She-Devils.
As for the Pinless Peepers, I'd be willing to use them if I could truly identify the aggressor(s). Stay tuned.
Thanks again for responding to my post!

 

[Debutante]

I feel for you. I know how stressed out your birds and you are right now. I had my own pecking/plucking issue last year, only with a flock half the size of yours, and no adverse weather to blame. I don't have any good advice, I think you've already gotten the best possible from others. Hang in there, you will figure out what needs to be done.

Thanks DunnMom! It's a battle, as you know, but thanks to great advice from the wise Backyard Chickeners, I may prevail... eventually.

 

[Debutante]

Important questions regarding your coop and run exact dimensions need to be answered before appropriate advice can be given.
You might try adding some animal protein to their feed. Kitty kibble would be one option.
You say you don't want to cull any members from your flock b/c it would be upsetting to your grand daughter. It should be even more upsetting to her that the birds that she has named have been harmed by this spiraling behavior which is leading to blood shed. An important aspect of animal husbandry includes making the hard decisions. Choosing to remove some flock members will have an immediate result in stress reduction within the flock. That may be all you need to do to get this issue under control. The MINIMUM space recommendation is for 4 s.f. in coop and 10 s.f. in run per bird. This is if all is going well. But, the minute behavioral or other management issues crop up, the wise flock manager will adjust the environment, or reduce flock size until harmony is again achieved.

Hi Lazy Gardener,

Thanks for your response and suggestions.
I do believe that the problem originated with too little space in the coop, which may not have been an issue IF they had all decided to go out into the run during the winter, as planned. Unfortunately, the ‘enclosed and covered’ run wasn’t completely storm proof against blizzards so that set in motion the chain of events that led to where I am now. Lesson learned.
The coop is 11 ft. long by 6.5 ft. wide, with 22 linear ft. of roost space and 6 nest boxes. The run is 17 ft. long by 8 ft. wide. I thought it would be okay for 18 “free-range” hens but clearly it didn’t work out that way.
I found some high-protein (38%) kitten food that is fish-based (seems icky to feed chicken to chickens) and I’ve been offering it daily for a month or so.
Situation with my little granddaughter is more complex. She’s only 5 and would understand the necessity of finding new homes for a few birds, but not culling. Making the tough decisions is a daily necessity on my farm but this poor kid has a lot of BS going on in her life at the moment and she loves her chickens. If I could re-home some, I sure would. My challenge is finding anyone who will take ugly, half-bald, red-butt chickens.

 

[Fishkeeper]

If you can separate the picked-on chickens out for a little while, even into dog cages or similar, they might look a bit better and more re-homeable after healing for a bit. You may also be able to explain that they're perfectly healthy, just a bit beat up. Any pics from before they were picked on, maybe?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Hi OldHenLikesDogs. Thank you very much for your reply and suggestions! The coop itself is unfortunately on the minimum side of what is recommended... the structure is 11 ft long by 6.5 ft wide. According to the rule of 4 sq. ft. per bird, that would mean that "17.8 birds" could be housed. Inside the coop there's about 22 linear ft. of roost space, and 6 nest boxes. I have 18 hens in the flock. The coop opens on to a secure run that is 17 ft. long by 8 ft. wide, however, they don't spend much time in the run now that the snow has mostly melted. They immediately leave the run to free-range all over the property. My rationale in pushing the space-per-bird limit was that they'd be free-ranging outside most of the day anyway and would only be sleeping and laying in the coop. BIG, STUPID MISTAKE. :-(
By the way, I used Blu-Kote on the small bloodied wound that the one hen had sustained and as of this morning, it seems okay and has not been pecked further, but I'll keep an eye on it. Our "Easter project" today (my husband and mine) will be to make sure that the old extra coop which we made years ago in a barn stall is safe and secure enough to house a few birds. Then we'll move some around. Again, THANK YOU so much for taking the time to reply to my post!!!

You are welcome. I think your plans of a bigger coop is the answer. Hopefully with free ranging they settle down a bit until you can get that done. Bluekote does help to hide any skin which will attract more pecking. I put them down while it's still wet so any curious pecking give birds a bad taste.

@sourland suggestion of peepers can also buy you time and you don't need to separate them out.

The 4 square feet minimum should actually be doubled or tripled to avoid troubles. Those measurements are often for production birds that have been debeaked. Chickens are flock animals, but that doesn't mean that they necessarily like being close to one another. They also have the pecking order, which keeps birds pecking at each other if one gets too close that shouldn't.

My chicken shed is 40x40 and it is full at about 75 birds. By the recommendations I could fit 400 chickens in it, but that would be a crazy number, and I will see problems if I go much over the 75 chickens. Mine are completely free range as well, so you can never give them too much room.

Hopefully you are able to get it worked out. Good luck.

 

[Alaskan]

the pinless peepers ate a great idea.

Maybe you should get them for the entire flock, couldn't hurt.

 

[GC-Raptor]

Pinless peepers worked for me when my lowest on the pecking order was molting. I had 5 hens at the time, so it was easy to see who were the culprits plucking the new feathers as fast as they were coming in. . .
I put the pinless peepers on the 3 culprits for 3 weeks. .
Here is the result. . The hen on the right. . The 3 others were the culprits. GC

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Don't beat yourself up. Overall, your attempted management of the problem has been pretty good.
Sometimes our best management techniques have glitches we need to deal with.
I'm with Mary and Sourland on moving the well feathered birds to the old coop. You didn't mention what feed you are using. I'm guessing the feed is layer which is likely 16% protein. Nor did you mention whether you offer scratch grains or table scraps. What have you done to increase the protein?
Even with free ranging, there is virtually no animal protein to be had outdoors this time of year.
If you get a few birds out of that building and again add some animal protein, I'll bet the problems will subside. Eliminate everything but chicken feed from the diet and add some fish or meat.
My go to for low cost per ounce is canned mackerel.
Crickets thrown in the bedding will keep the birds busy and add some good protein.
Keep in mind that usually the problem is space and protein since feathers are 93% protein.