Feathers plucked...!!

[sillyovrsilkies]

Hey...just a quick ? I noticed one day last week after a particularly frigid day/night where my silkies had spent the majority of their day in their coop that one of my hens must have been picked on b/c her neck feathers were plucked!! There was no sign of injury...only she's quite bare on her normally fluffy little neck. None of the others appear to have any problems...just her. So, is this normal? Were they just bored, so they decided to pick on one?? Any suggestions for stopping the behavior? I'm not sure that it's continuing, but just in case I noticed anything else...

 

[Judy]

you might want to read the threads on the FAQ page about feather picking.

 

[tammye]

keep an eye on her, feather plucking can lead to blood, which then can lead to a huge sore, if you see any blood she needs to be removed from the flock asap, you can put her in a dog crate in the coop, that way she is protected and still with the others if you see blood. also, give them something to do, put whole cabbage in coop, put a bail of hay for them to kick around, throw their feed in the shavings for them to scratch at, give them some BOSS to increase protein in their diet. In my experence feather plucking can be difficult to stop, when the others see one doing it they may all start doing it, pinless peepers help too stop this also. good luck

 

[yelim]

Quote:
What FAQ's are you typing of?