Feather picking

[vmdanielsen]

I also need help, I have 5 new Hampshire reds and 2leghorns all are hens and I have 1 new Hampshire red rooster. On our new Hampshire reds. We started noticing feathers on there backs were all matted down , and when I parted their feathers to look at there skin I noticed
Wide open wounds on their backs. It looks like the skin has been cut. We have only had these guys for about. 11 months.

you may want to put chicken aprons on them, at least until they heal. Do you think that you have an overzealous rooster or are the hens picking one another?

 

[azygous]

I, too, am amazed, this thread has gone a year, but not surprised. Picking is a universally heart-breaking problem, little understood, and therefore not easily addressed.

But some feather loss is due to over-zealous roosters, as in the previous post. If a roo over-mates a hen, or hens, their feathers simply are too fragile to hold up under constant assault. If there are lacerations in addition to feather loss, you have a potentially life-threatening situation.

If a rooster's spurs are too long, they can severely injure a hen during mating, and sometimes hens have been killed. If this is the cause of your hens' injuries, you need to, first, remove the spurs. Simply twist them off with pliers. Videos are available to show you how.

Second, get some saddle/aprons and put them on the injured hens so they can heal and their feathers can re-grow. There are lots of free patterns for saddles available, and many require little or no sewing skills.

Good luck!

 

[ravenseye57]

I got the pinless peepers, but like some others have mentioned the other chickens pulled at them and they came off. I figured I'd try again, but in the meantime I kept the main troublemaker in a dog crate. I finally put her back with the others after a couple of weeks and she's behaving much better now. There's still a little picking going on, but winter's almost over and I'm starting to move the girls back out to pasture. Hopefully that'll solve it.

I agree about the rooster being the probable cause for the trouble FAZ is having. Saddles work pretty well if you can keep them on (my girls and the roo pulled them off of mine). I ended up making a separate cage for my roosters.

 

[FAZ]

I took the rooster out of the coop. Hope this will take care of this. Thank you will let you know

 

[GhostRider65]

OMG, glad I found this thread, I have a picker too or several, over the late winter, I have 5 of my 16 hens almost featherless, my other 4 are close, bare backed and the top of the wings, even the tail feathers on 1, they get the best feed, boss corn and eggs 3 times a week. scraps too left overs mostly but I grew them their own garden last year............
I separated the roo's 2 months ago in part to prepare for the breeding pen, and because I thought it was just over jealous roo damage, but I seen that even my EE roo had his beard picked clean............. it shouldn't be boredom they have a good sized run for 18 birds, 15 wide by 25 long, by another 25 x 10 wide, also a 10 x 12 coop, with 9 nest boxes, and 3 10 foot roosts, and never once didn't I shovel out the run for them we even put a wind break around it in November so they would go out during the winter. I can't free range them just yet I'm attempting to hatch some eggs, and my 2 roosters are loose yet while the other is in the breeding pen............. so after I get all my roos, with the right hens eggs I will let them all loose, every afternoon to free range, but for now I will try some of the great suggestions I read on this thread. TY ALL VM for the help I will let everyone know what works and what doesn't.........Kim

 

[Srdthatsme]

Slightly different question on the same topic.

I just got two laying hens of mutt origin, they came from a flock that (in my opinion) had too many members in too small of a spot. I'm a sucker for the under-dog so I picked out two hens that were obviously very low in the pecking order. One has a damaged leg so she hobbles, and is picked clean all the way down her neck.

The question I have is how long can I expect for her to grow back her feathers?

As rough of shape they are both in, they are still laying eggs. I can't imagine how great the eggs will be when they are healthy!

SRD.

P.S. this is my first post so, sorry if I messed something up.