Help! Still eating feathers.

[Kerr]

I have three Roo's

One White Leghorn who rules the Roost but is gentle - he head butts everyone - he doesn't peck

One Barred Rock Roo who I call Mr Universe.
He is the biggest strongest Roo I've ever seen (I raised him from a baby). But he is very very gentle. Other than the occasional comb grabbing on his girlfriends.

My Leghorn and Barred Rock hang out like best friends.

The other is a White Silkie who just minds his own business.

But the two new non-attractive females I just purchased came like that.

I'm hoping the guy who sold them to me had a crazy Roo and the girls feathers will grow back SOON.
Time will tell I guess.
If the one with the pink bum continues to get picked on at my place - maybe she'll have to move inside the house

 

[Tuffoldhen]

If you have them quarantined from your flock for a month the feathers should grow back in that length of time......just give them some extra protein like dry or wet catfood to help.....

 

[AK-Bird-brain]

you can also hang up a cabbage in their run to give them something else to peck at.

 

[silkiechicken]

Hot pick, is just a brand of anti pick that you can put on the hens backs so that if someone tries to eat it, they will get a bad flavor in their mouth. You can usually get anti picks anywhere they have bird supplies or your feed store.

 

[PDXChickGirl]

I have been trying cat food for 1 week and BOSS for almost 2 weeks now. My Amelia is relentless. She pulled a big gob of them from the belly of one of the hens! It's getting noticeable. I'm wondering if it's a behavior thing vs. diet.

I'll be able to get to a feed store tomorrow, so I'll get a wire cage and try isolation in the coop, but I'll have to let her out at night to go into the roost box with the others, though - the roost box is too small for me to isolate her in there. This is going to be fun, I can tell (not!).


Quote:
Yes, if thats all you have, at least for a while to see if that helps the "peckees". We had bleeding butts and something had to happen. So we took the two perpetrators out and everyone healed up nicely. See if that works for you. Never used "hot pick" so not sure, but silkiechicken will come back and clue us all in .

Let us know how it goes,

Randy

 

[TxChiknRanchers]

Be carefull with the catfood, it has some bad things in it for chickens if given large quantities, namely salt. Fry up some cheap ground beef without seasoning. But most importantly separate the pecker and things will be ok!

 

[SeaChick]

PDXChickGirl-

We had the same thing happen to our dear RIR pullet Hazel. When she started laying her personality totally changed and suddenly she couldn't stand being cooped up in the run, and she began eating great hunks of feathers off the other girsl (one in particular who she made bleed.) Even when out free ranging she would do it! We tried isolating her for 4 days or so inside, which was horrible- she just screeched to get out! and then reintroduced her hoping she'd go down in the pecking order and get more humble. It did not work! It was SO sad for us, as we'd raised her from a baby and loved her. But we had to find another home for her. She's with AngieN'Maine now, and it seems she is doing well. She gets to free range all day and there are roosters there. She even laid an egg already for Angie! It is so sad not to have her anymore but I know she is happier there.

By the way we tried BlueKote and Mentholatum to keep her from picking the first victim's back, but she just switched to haunch feathers instead.

I hope you have better luck!

Stacey

 

[SandraChick]

Back to PDX's problem.....

Sometimes, the feather picking can become a habit and it seems that is the case with your bird.

The only way I know to break the habit is to separate her from the rest until the habit is broken. How long to separate her is the big question. I myself would try 3 days....then if it didn't do it....separate her again for 7 days.


I hope all works out for you
Sandra

 

[SeaChick]

Gee... I'm not sure if that was directed at me. If so I am sorry if I offended. I was only trying to provide some first-hand experience for her. I always find it helpful when I read of a situation that is nearly the same, whether the outcome is good or bad. It gives one information that helps in decison-making, don't you think? Anyway, just trying to be helpful. If she needs to make a re-homing decison I thought it would be nice to hear that it can work out well....... Again- sorry if I offended! Gosh I'll just shut up now. Sorry.

 

[SandraChick]

Sea CHick...not directed at you at all....It just seemed the thread was getting mixed up with more than one person's issue and they were not completely related...so I was trying to bring the thread back to the original conversation...I didn't want PDX to not get the help she needed from the distraction.....

Sandra