Feather plucking

[Sarahhhlucille]

One of my polish hens is plucking out her own feathers. Started at her bum now her back. No bullying that I am aware of. Everyone is getting along. No other chickens have feather loss. Help please.

 

[CalBickieMomma]

I haven’t had this happen in my flock (I have two Polish and sometimes my Wyandotte pulls out their head feathers - Grrrrr! ), BUT I’ve witnessed no self-plucking (though this happens in other birds like parrots and is usually a sign of boredom or stress).

Here are some things that MIGHT be happening (again, no expert here, but may be a place to start):

1.) Parasites - might your Polish have fleas or mites (mites tend to accumulate on the back end).
2.) Space - do your chickens have enough space? I’ve read that they need at least 10 sq. feet per chicken in the run, less in the coop.
3.) Deficiency - I’ve also read that chickens sometimes pluck other chickens’ feathers because they need more protein (maybe yours just likes her own feathers?)
4.) Boredom/Stress - maybe, like parrots, chickens self-pluck out of boredom/due to stress

Again, I’m not an expert, but hopefully someone with more knowledge will comment soon. Good luck!

 

[ackie]

I haven’t had this happen in my flock (I have two Polish and sometimes my Wyandotte pulls out their head feathers - Grrrrr! ), BUT I’ve witnessed no self-plucking (though this happens in other birds like parrots and is usually a sign of boredom or stress).

Here are some things that MIGHT be happening (again, no expert here, but may be a place to start):

1.) Parasites - might your Polish have fleas or mites (mites tend to accumulate on the back end).
2.) Space - do your chickens have enough space? I’ve read that they need at least 10 sq. feet per chicken in the run, less in the coop.
3.) Deficiency - I’ve also read that chickens sometimes pluck other chickens’ feathers because they need more protein (maybe yours just likes her own feathers?)
4.) Boredom/Stress - maybe, like parrots, chickens self-pluck out of boredom/due to stress

Again, I’m not an expert, but hopefully someone with more knowledge will comment soon. Good luck!

definitely second boredom/stress. I've read that feather pecking is redirected ground pecking from not having good foraging opportunities

 

[hayley3]

One of my polish hens is plucking out her own feathers. Started at her bum now her back. No bullying that I am aware of. Everyone is getting along. No other chickens have feather loss. Help please.

Are you sure she's not molting? I have a Welsummer that looks a dreadful sight at the moment and she is the only one that has lost almost all her feathers.

 

[CalBickieMomma]

Oh! I just remembered a blog post I read once about alleviating boredom (if that’s what it turns out to be). I can’t let my chickens free range because my dogs are not chicken trained. They have a big run, but I do worry about boredom. Anyhoo, the blogger said she’ll get a bail of hay and just set it in their run and it gives them something to scratch apart. What I do is rake up leaf piles from the yard and make leaf mountains in their run. They love to dig through them .

 

[hayley3]

Oh! I just remembered a blog post I read once about alleviating boredom (if that’s what it turns out to be). I can’t let my chickens free range because my dogs are not chicken trained. They have a big run, but I do worry about boredom. Anyhoo, the blogger said she’ll get a bail of hay and just set it in their run and it gives them something to scratch apart. What I do is rake up leaf piles from the yard and make leaf mountains in their run. They love to dig through them .

For Christmas, I gave my chickens a bale of straw...best gift ever for a chicken!