feather picking hens

[HennyJenny]

I just went through this - and based on the advice and experience of the folks on here I added protein and entertainment and solved the problem in fairly short order. My dad (who is an old farmer type who has raised production birds forever) told on the day it happened (it was a blizzard and I couldn't drive anywhere) to put vicks-vaporub on the bird getting picked and they would leave her alone. Under normal circumstances, this is not something I would have done because despite the fact I had a grandma that didn't think anything of giving a kid a spoonful of melted vicks - I worried that it would be bad for the birds but apparently it was so offensive that no one would get near the butt of the bird covered in it - and so there was no ingestion - or at least if there was it didn't harm anyone the one time I did it. Anyway - it seems to have worked in a pinch and it seemed to help scab over the bleeding parts as well.

 

[mypicklebird]

I also agree- the low protein diet +/- boredom or crowding is the underlying problem If you fix the problem, the bad habits will probably fix themselves. Give them something better to eat than feathers (meaning high protein). Game bird feed, purina flock raiser, turkey grower ect. Even handfuls of dry cat food added to their ration on a regular basis.



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[sagesounds]

Thanks for all the ideas Here is what I have found so far:

Vicks works well to keep them off the poor hen for at least a day or two, they relly don't like the taste, but it does wear off

Sunflower seeds were well accepted, so hopefully the protein issue is at least partially corrected. I also plan on buying some lentils next week, as they are supposed to be a good protein source. They also have access to all the layer mix they want (I forgot to mention that) so I thought they could regulate their intake to what they need, however they don't like the layer mix, I think personally it is due to the GMO feed that is probably in it (as GMO is not labeled it is difficult to know what is in the layer mix that they don't like. I have tried several brands and they just always prefer to eat whole grains. When the weather was nice they would free range every afternoon for several hours, but with snow & ice on the ground for the last 3 months, they just have the large outdoor covered run (120sq ft, and inside coop of about another 120sq ft). not too crowded for 16 med. to small birds. Lots of straw & alfalfa hay to scratch in & eat on the ground.

I made a few "aprons" to cover the rumps of the hens with no feathers, but they are diffcult to keep on , with 5 aprons, I have had to reapply one each day when someone gets their vest amiss.. cute but when first applied the other hens think a new hen is in the pen and attack her on the head. So now when I put on a new apron I have to vicks the whole hen to keep her from being attacked. I tried just vicks on a few, but I don't know how well it is working yet. I will have to spend more time out there watching them to know.

I also have noticed an occasional egg with a small peck on the "flat" end, so I need to do something to discourage that also.

thanks for all the help, it really has helped! you all have such great advice & experience to share!