Feather picking, no stopping it now??

[rctcinnv]

My flock of twelve hens are picking each other horribly for sometime now, started off post molt, then I mistakenly thought mite issue, so the behavior escalated all that time. Added cat food and black oil sunflower seeds to their diet. I've tried separating first just the most assaulted, then the most aggressive with NO positive results! Is there ANYTHING that can be done at this point?? Will they eventually be cannibalistic? Should I just be culling them all? Ugh….any ideas surely appreciated!

 

[sourland]

Do an on site search on 'Pinless Peepers' - they just may work in this situation.

 

[arkansas55]

hello,i have a pecking chicken,she has injured another's eye so she is seperatedfor 3 days in an small coop,good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[rctcinnv]

Thanks for the info, I just ordered some, hopefully they'll work or just gonna be a lot of chicken for dinner as I can't watch them slowly kill each other!

 

[aart]

My flock of twelve hens are picking each other horribly for sometime now, started off post molt, then I mistakenly thought mite issue, so the behavior escalated all that time. Added cat food and black oil sunflower seeds to their diet. I've tried separating first just the most assaulted, then the most aggressive with NO positive results! Is there ANYTHING that can be done at this point?? Will they eventually be cannibalistic? Should I just be culling them all? Ugh….any ideas surely appreciated!

Curious as to how big your coop and run is(feet by feet) and how old are they..did they grow up together?

 

[rctcinnv]

2 of the 12 are a year older and the other 10 grew up together last spring, so year n 1/2 old. the run is plenty large, about 50'x30'. One of the older birds is the only one unaffected, i have ordered pinless peepers already, going to start out with the peepers on only the few most unaffected and leave the bald ones without them and see what happens. Any additional thoughts please let me know, thx!

 

[BayBay Peepers]

When the other chicken's feathers grow back try some distractions like hanging a cabbage head from the roof. Maybe if you can get them to refocus it will become habit NOT to pick on each other.