Hen plucking and eating feathers off of others

[PViolet]

Hello everyone.
I have a problem with 1 hen, she keeps plucking off/eating feathers of other hens. It came to the point that one of my hens has bare spots on her thighs. I've noticed today that 6 of my other hens don't have saddle feathers, just fluffy inner ones. And I saw her plucking off feathers of them. None of the other hens do this, only this 1. It is not an aggressive plucking, she just comes to them, see feathers plucks them off and eats... The run is 8meters in length and 3.50meters in width and I have 9 chickens, they are 10 months old. I feed them layer pellets, (min.17% protein, vitamins and other minerals included), wheat and few days ago I added sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds, I bought the ones in small bags from the supermarket because our farm stores don't have any other feed for hens except layer pellets, wheat, crushed/whole corn. Occasionally I feed them fresh grass, zucchini. The coop is kind of small I know, it is 130cm in length and 110cm in width, the height is 110cm, it has good ventilation. I cannot upgrade it at the moment cause I'm overloaded with work, but still... they haven't been having problems all this time til now, I don't know why she does that. I was carefully watching them today and none of the chickens plucks feathers except this 1, and she seems to be enjoying it. I wanted to separate her in the same run but I don't have any equipment for that, and shops are closed due to the covid-19. I could put her in the attic for a couple days, but then she would be away from her flock, not sure if that's a good idea? Any advice/suggestions would be appreciated!

 

[sourland]

Do an on site search on Pin Less Peepers - they can be used to control this bad habit. Generally it starts when birds are penned up and unable to get outside. Protein supplementation may also help.

 

[NatJ]

Feather-picking sometimes happens when a hen doesn't get enough protein.
Maybe she needs a bit extra?

You could try giving her something with more protein: bugs or worms, meat or fish, cooked egg, cat food or kitten food, chick starter, gamebird starter (for any packaged animal food, just read the label to check the protein content)

Or she could be bored. Maybe you could add more things for the chickens to do in the run, especially something like dirt or compost or leaves for them to scratch through, or a clump of sod to tear apart. Things for the chickens to sit on might also help, so they can be out of her reach.

 

[PViolet]

Feather-picking sometimes happens when a hen doesn't get enough protein.
Maybe she needs a bit extra?

You could try giving her something with more protein: bugs or worms, meat or fish, cooked egg, cat food or kitten food, chick starter, gamebird starter (for any packaged animal food, just read the label to check the protein content)

Or she could be bored. Maybe you could add more things for the chickens to do in the run, especially something like dirt or compost or leaves for them to scratch through, or a clump of sod to tear apart. Things for the chickens to sit on might also help, so they can be out of her reach.

I was thinking of buying chick starter and try my luck. Not sure if it's gonna help her stop doing that bad habit but wil certainly try. Should I separate her completely, would it be a good idea to put her away for a couple days?

 

[21hens-incharge]

To add to the great info others have posted maybe add a roost in the run, stumps to hop on, an apple hung on a rope or a chunk of cabbage to peck at.

As to separation.... It may help but can cause reintegration issues when bringing her back into the flock. Maybe fence off a section of the run so she us there but cannot pluck the others.

Pinless peepers are certainly worth a try.

 

[PViolet]

To add to the great info others have posted maybe add a roost in the run, stumps to hop on, an apple hung on a rope or a chunk of cabbage to peck at.

As to separation.... It may help but can cause reintegration issues when bringing her back into the flock. Maybe fence off a section of the run so she us there but cannot pluck the others.

Pinless peepers are certainly worth a try.

They have few roosts, dust, sand among many options she chose to pluck feathers ... Right, I thought the same about reintegration, kind of risky... But I'm out of fence and shops are closed for a while, I tried to improvise today with curtains but she finds her way to sneak out... She's a real troublemaker

 

[21hens-incharge]

They have few roosts, dust, sand among many options she chose to pluck feathers ... Right, I thought the same about reintegration, kind of risky... But I'm out of fence and shops are closed for a while, I tried to improvise today with curtains but she finds her way to sneak out... She's a real troublemaker

I see. Some birds can be tough to deal with.
I would try the pinless peepers. She cannot peck as easily with them on.

 

[PViolet]

I see. Some birds can be tough to deal with.
I would try the pinless peepers. She cannot peck as easily with them on.

I see. Some birds can be tough to deal with.
I would try the pinless peepers. She cannot peck as easily with them on.

Thank you for the help!

 

[linguini]

They have few roosts, dust, sand among many options she chose to pluck feathers ... Right, I thought the same about reintegration, kind of risky... But I'm out of fence and shops are closed for a while, I tried to improvise today with curtains but she finds her way to sneak out... She's a real troublemaker

I sometimes put black oil sun flower seeds and some meal worms in clear plastic bottles with drilled holes (not too many holes) for them to peck on when the weather is really bad and they are cooped up. They will work on it all day and get distracted. Make sure the seeds don't come out at a fast rate, so they won't end up eating too much.

 

[NatJ]

But I'm out of fence and shops are closed for a while, I tried to improvise today with curtains but she finds her way to sneak out... She's a real troublemaker

Maybe a dog crate inside the run?

The curtains were a good idea, but might need to be secured better

Usually we worry about making a chicken pen that will keep them safe from predators, but if you're just trying to keep chickens apart from other chickens, you're right that gives you more options.

Other things I can think of for possible dividers: a laundry basket, an old oven rack, the grill from a barbecue grill, a window screen, a piece of plywood or even cardboard for part of the divider...