Help with Tail Feather Pulling????

[OliviaDeHav]

I have 3 six week olds and the smallest one is pulling tail feathers on the other 2. This particular one is SO fussy! Not very friendly to us or the 2 other chickens. She also seems to just pick at the other 2 whenever she can. Earlier they other two were settling down in their dust baths and she kept stepping on them, jumping on them, pulling at their tail feathers. Yesterday she kept pecking at one of them in the eyes when they were in their dust bath. First one eye then the next! I'm concerned what is going on in the coop when no one is watching!
We have someone who will take her........ i think considering the other two are SO sweet, affectionate, and get along well with each other, this might be the best thing???
Thoughts? They are still on chicken starter feed, have a baby chicken block to eat, free range every day for a few hours and eat lots of bugs etc.... The tail pulling isn't excessive, but she is doing it......

 

[mgw]

Maybe find away to punish her like solitary for a few days , this could just be pecking order activity also luck to you.

 

[OliviaDeHav]

Quote:
I thought of that.... no place to put her

Not one that i feel would be safe for her. I wish i'd have got some other replies along with yours for ideas. I think everyone is too eggs-cited about their new eggs

Not that i blame anyone for being excited... i'm sure i will be when the time comes

Oh well....... i guess she goes in the morning....... Thank you for your response. I wish i had a place for her so i could try. We are keeping ours for eggs and as pets, but where she is going, she will be someone's dinner in a few months or so....

 

[emanonii]

I have 10 hens, and 3 of them were missing all of their tail feathers (and bleeding). I tried pine tar, but that only helped a little bit. I also tried solitary confinement for a couple of days, but it didn't help at all. After searching here, I came across pinless peepers - http://www.eggcartons.com/product-exec/product_id/754/nm/Pinless_Peepers_PINLESS_P. I didn't think they would work, but holy cow these things were a godsend. No more feather picking, and the three that were getting beat up have now fully recovered. I'm not one that normally recommends products, but the peepers are great. They are inexpensive, but can be a little tricky to put on until you get the hang of it.

 

[peachychick]

eman,
when they have these peepers on, can they see to fly up to their roosts? We normally feed them in the same area every day and the waterer is stationary also, but how they'll find the roost and get up into the nest boxes has me puzzled. Thanks for this post, btw. We're about to pull our hair out finding ways to stop them from pulling their feathers out!
Kelli

 

[OliviaDeHav]

We ended up giving the offender away.... She is happy as a clam in her new diggs... We started with 8 with the intent of giving 4 to this guy....so she is back with the chicks - now pullets - she started with and seems fine.
The other two who are left here (we have 4 of them who are 4 weeks old too) are doing GREAT! they are so much happier! They are so sweet with each other.

 

[emanonii]

Quote:
They can do everything they did before without a problem. The peepers prevent them from seeing straight ahead. When they want to see/peck at something on the ground/in front of them, they will turn their head sideways to see what they want to look at.
The roost is no problem. My roost is a series of roosting poles, with the lowest one being about three feet from the floor. The hens with the peepers have no trouble at all jumping up to the first roosting pole and moving between the different poles. I also give the hens treats, and they have no problems finding what I've thrown out for them.

 

[OliviaDeHav]

la-la-la don't mind me....don't want to interupt....