Feather picking

[Linda112]

I have only two ladies, Thelma and Louise, who have been together their whole lives (2.5 years). They have a coop inside a pen. The pen measures about 10 x 15’. They free range with supervision, but haven’t been able to much lately with all the rain in Florida and an apparent advertisement to every hawk in the area that chickens live here. Thelma has plucked out all of Louise’s tail feathers. They have a swing, a dust bath, two exterior perches, and two nest boxes. Louise is skittish, so I will get her tonight off the roost and check for mites, etc. She seems to feel fine, eating and laying. Here are my questions:

Why is Thelma doing this?
How can I stop it?
Should I separate them, and if so, which chicken should be taken out of the pen?
How do I treat poor Louise’s behind?

Thanks!

 

[DobieLover]

I have only two ladies, Thelma and Louise, who have been together their whole lives (2.5 years). They have a coop inside a pen. The pen measures about 10 x 15’. They free range with supervision, but haven’t been able to much lately with all the rain in Florida and an apparent advertisement to every hawk in the area that chickens live here. Thelma has plucked out all of Louise’s tail feathers. They have a swing, a dust bath, two exterior perches, and two nest boxes. Louise is skittish, so I will get her tonight off the roost and check for mites, etc. She seems to feel fine, eating and laying. Here are my questions:

Why is Thelma doing this?
How can I stop it?
Should I separate them, and if so, which chicken should be taken out of the pen?
How do I treat poor Louise’s behind?

Thanks!

Are you sure Thelma is the guilty party and not Mother Nature? Tis the season to molt.
The stress of being locked up and under the watchful eye of hawks could accelerate/start the molt.
I've had hens loose their tail feathers in a 24 hour period during molt.
Have you checked for pin feathers?

 

[Linda112]

Are you sure Thelma is the guilty party and not Mother Nature? Tis the season to molt.
The stress of being locked up and under the watchful eye of hawks could accelerate/start the molt.
I've had hens loose their tail feathers in a 24 hour period during molt.
Have you checked for pin feathers?

Thanks for your reply. I caught Thelma in the act!! I will check for pin feathers when I pull her off the roost later. She’s like trying to catch a greased pig otherwise!

 

[DobieLover]

Thanks for your reply. I caught Thelma in the act!! I will check for pin feathers when I pull her off the roost later. She’s like trying to catch a greased pig otherwise!

If your certain she's doing it, I would look to increase clutter in their run, give them more things to do and increase the protein level in their feed to something like 18-20%. What are they eating now?

 

[Linda112]

Layer Pellets (17% protein) with the occasional treat of Greek yogurt, scratch grains, pumpkin, squash, etc.

 

[DobieLover]

Layer Pellets (17% protein) with the occasional treat of Greek yogurt, scratch grains, pumpkin, squash, etc.

Personally, I'd switch them over to Flock Raiser with oyster shell on the side. It's got 20% protein. And when they are molting, they do not need and should not have all the extra calcium found in layer formulations.