Feather Plucking and Acting Odd

[jlabs]

My silkie has been plucking feathers, mostly around her neck. She’s also been acting weird. She spends the first half of the day hiding in the coop. Her companion stays with her, nervously walking around, while the others go out into the run. She’s not been coming out until about 2. I’ve done lots to entertain my flock, fed them protein rich snacks, checked for mites...what have I not considered? How can I help her stop picking out her feathers?

 

[Chicken-lovebirdchihuahua]

She might need more protein the feather plucking might mean that feathers have lots of protein or maybe she's going broody in a weird way

 

[jlabs]

She might need more protein the feather plucking might mean that feathers have lots of protein or maybe she's going broody in a weird way

I’ll try adding more protein!

 

[Chicken-lovebirdchihuahua]

Ok sounds good it might be something else but that's all I could think of because my turkeys did that check the amount of protein in her feed and maybe make her an egg or two eggs will help her protein for a little while

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Buy a can of good dog food with plenty of meat and meat by-products in it. Open the can and give her one or two teaspoons full each day and refrigerate the rest. I have never known canned dog food fail to cure 'protein anemia'.

 

[Skipper81]

It can also be habit forming from boredom or anxiety so that could be something to look into if all else fails I ran into it once
Something about there 24 hour cycle being interrupted or irregular.
Now I'm wondering do they pluck there own feathers if they need protein because that won't help if they are short on protein lol I'm just curious

 

[jlabs]

It can also be habit forming from boredom or anxiety so that could be something to look into if all else fails I ran into it once
Something about there 24 hour cycle being interrupted or irregular.
Now I'm wondering do they pluck there own feathers if they need protein because that won't help if they are short on protein lol I'm just curious

That’s a good question. She went broody late December and was hard to break. She very well could be lacking protein.
I have tried hard to add entertainment...she’s just so pretty, I want her to stop pulling her feathers.
I made scrambled eggs with meal worms and grubs today. I’m going to start with that. She did come out with the flock today, so that’s a good sign.

 

[Chicken-lovebirdchihuahua]

That is a good sign and those eggs sound so yummy LOL she will love it I bet

 

[EggSighted4Life]

@jlabs
Hi, hope you are enjoying BYC!

Ok sounds good it might be something else but that's all I could think of because my turkeys did that check the amount of protein in her feed and maybe make her an egg or two eggs will help her protein for a little while

While eggs are good source of vitamins, and minerals including selenium... they actually only have about 12% protein and 30% fat. Not your best choice for protein boost since 12% is way too low.

Also, I've searched this extensively and although they are made from 90% protein and its amino acids.. feathers actually have VERY little digestible protein at a rate of about 2% if I remember correctly. I believe protein gets blamed on feather picking WAY more often then is reality. Meal worms and grubs are a good source of protein, but gotta be sparing as they are also very high in fat. Do you mind telling us what is you feed protein % and what snacks or supplements you might provide on a regular basis? Cat food MIGHT be higher in protein than dog food??

Personally I've never seen a bird able to pluck their own neck feathers. Can you post a pic? Tummy feathers and maybe chest for sure though during brooding. (not all ladies)

Beginning broodiness... is a possibility. My gals usually give us behavioral indicators one or two days in advance. Do you know if she's laying eggs? If she was broody in Dec, that indicates decent nutrition to me... because that's part of the reason animals don't have young in winter for lack of food source. She WILL go broody again, in MY experience! Some, every 3 week on the dot if I put them in the breaker... Which by the way... locking them away from their chosen nest, even on the grass.. is ENOUGH to make them mad and pace. I used to use the wire bottom cage, which I still employ for night time inside the coop. But using for day time use doesn't decrease breaker time AT ALL for us. When I had a Marans girl on the wire bottom breaker for 10 days... I said enough is enough. No more day time wire bottom. Now I use an open bottom pen and it works GREAT!

Girls coming out of broody (from the breaker) and daylight increasing is always scary to me because I lost a girl to egg binding like that once who wasn't even a prolific breed "known" for those issues. While giant eggs might seem fun to get, I really hope not to. I got a chicken egg that weighed 104 grams, 84 grams is considered jumbo!

A lot of girls in my flock were missing FRONT neck feathers last year... They shouldn't mess with a psycho broody mum! Silkies being kinda short, that was where they made contact when they spar... but I saw it happen so I knew that's what it was. Have you actually seen her plucking her own feathers? Where is she spending her time when she isn't coming out of the coop? How has your weather been lately? How many birds in how much space total? How old is she?

If you have checked for mites/lice only in the day time, that might not be enough. Some don't live on the birds but in the cracks of wood and only come out to feed at night. So checking a couple hours after dark with a flashlight parting feathers near the vent and up the abdomen to look for little things running away will give you your best picture. In addition, some are actually microscopic and will NEVER be seen by the naked eye.

My Silkies gals who actually brood or sit for any period of time very often go through a mini molt during or afterwards. This is most often seen around their beards it seems like, but I will have to pay attention better next time. In addition, because of their mini molts... they haven't gone through any major winter molt thus far.

Please know all of my questions are only to help get clues and I don't mean to sound blunt or judgey as it sometimes comes across.

A pic can really help... and I'm not just trying to con you out of some cuteness overload.

Hope she is actually well!

 

[peeper89]

pics?