Hen,s tail feather being pecked

[chicken garden lady]

One of my chickens is missing most of her tail feathers, she is 22 weeks old. She lives with 5 - 23 weeks old girls and 4 two year olds. She is at the lower end of the pecking order. my flock is of several breeds so it's easy for them to tell who's who. I let them out into thier yard every am. I give them treats from the garden, scratch, and sometime boss to scratch around for. they also have layer crumbles free choice. I let them free range most evenings while Iwork in the yard, hawks are migrating though lately. I tried making a clothe cover she hated it. I tried vaseline, they ate it, so I sprinkeled it with cayenne pepper, they don't seem to notice. They haven't broken the skin yet, but how do I stop this bad behavior before they really hurt her?

 

[janetk]

are you sure the others are pecking the tailfeathers? could be her. check for mites. if her skin is showing and pink-they may be pecking at that. try blu kote. i've used vicks on mine & they don't like that. sounds like you're satisfying their need to peck at food and such. try the search for pecking tailfeathers for other ideas. good luck

 

[maggiemooscluckers]

Quote:
Could you tell a newbie what bluecoat is and where do I get it. I have a 5 week old that has had her neck feathers pecked out and I need something that I can treat her with that the others will leave her alone. I really don't have a good facility for separating her.