hens picking feathers! almost bald bird

[huntergirl25]

my rhode island red hens are picking eachother clean! im not sure what else to try I have tried bitter yuck, pick no more lotion, salt in water, and bug killing powder I am not sure why they are doing this please help!

 

[chooketychook]

Theres a wound spray you can buy in pet stores I cant remember the name but basically its a antiseptic spray and it dyes the skin blue or purple,apparently the colour puts chickens off wanting to peck the bold spots.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Feather picking is a learned habit. Once it starts, it is very hard to control, as they become like addicts.

Causes of feather picking include crowded conditions, boredom and lack of proper animal protein in the diet. Identify the issues that led to this problem. You have to solve the underlying factors.

 

[realsis]

You can also try using a lotion on their body called peck no more by rooster booster. It works wonderfully! You put it on the area they are pecking and they hate the strong smell and STOP pecking. It also has tea tree oil in it to promote healing of the pecked areas. I would give it a try. You can buy it at tractor supply. I've used it when my hen was pecking on my babies. I kept that on their backs and heads for a week and she completely stopped pecking from then on out.it WILL break them of the habbit! Hope this helps and best wishes to you and your flock.

 

[huntergirl25]

I tried the picking lotion already and bitter yuck and salt in their water

 

[wolfpup]

The lotion mentioned in the second post is Gentian Violet. It is an antiseptic and also stains the feathers/skin purple - which hens evidently cannot see - but it covers up bald spots and in particular blood - which they will continue to peck at.

For the last 2 months I have had one feather plucker/eater - my other girls lived in fear of this hen in the end - no matter what I tried.
Some will say its a nutrient deficiency - but after consultation with my vet (a long time hen keeper) he confirmed that my girls were not only getting a rich, varied diet, but that they were positively spoiled (high quality layers pellets were the basis - then later on they got sprouted alfalfa, mung beans, lentils verdes, tomato, etc, hanging cabbage in the main run, poultry mineral powder, garlic, egg shell improver, AVC etc etc.

She started the feather pecking (tentatively) before she started laying, and I thought at that time she was just trying to sort out her place in my small flock - and she did work her way up to top hen in a couple of months - she started laying in November and by the beginning of February I started noticing that every time a hen came within reach she would peck at the feathers.

It wasn't until the sun came out one day I noticed that one of my black rocks had no outer feathers on her back (no shiny feathers) and on looking closely at the others I then saw blood spots and sores under the wing of another.

Checked for mites - none, then I saw her have a real go at one of the smaller black rocks and knew I had a real problem.

I read the 'I think I found a cure for feather plucking' post from the beginning and tried absolutely everything suggested to no avail. In the end I reluctantly decided I had to get rid of her for the sake of the rest of the flock. Last Sunday I found another hen keeper in the next street that keeps Wellsummers and Orpingtons who said that his hens would not tolerate a feather plucker and offered to take her for me (I just could not bring myself to cull her).

After reading almost solidly for 5 weeks I have come to the conclusion that it can be a learned habit, but that some hens are just 'bad to the bone' as my vet suggested. One of the things I tried did work for a few weeks - but she started up again and that was to separate her.


I really feel for you, but unfortunately if you now have a whole flock of feather eaters, it might not be long before they start cannibalizing each other.

Ending on a good point - my other girls now seem much calmer, and not so worried about being near another hen.

Can you separate out the baddies (assuming some of your flock are still 'innocent')??.

 

[claudiag]

we also have this problem with our flock. so this morning we put bag balm on the bare spots. but they seemed to still peck while we were standing there with them after we had applied the stuff to them. do we need to reply often? so do we need to paint them purple too? I remember gentian violet from my breastfeeding my human kids days. funny how these things are so dual purpose.
now I am worried if we need to just cull this flock and start anew. we will see.
Claudia in Ontario.

 

[huntergirl25]

I really do not want to cull or give away and chickens I raised them from chicks this is my first flock ever and this breaks my heart!

 

[FarmGirlForLife]

There is also an antiseptic spray called blu kote that dyes the sprayed area blue. Whenever one of my chickens gets "plucked" by another for various reasons. All the chickens love the polishes for their funny hairdos and one chicken who was low on the pecking order got stuck and couldn't move.

On another note, I have a bench of hens that have stopped laying and cockerels that I have to cull. I just think of the good life they lived.

 

[huntergirl25]

so does the blu-kote prevent them prom picking? it says its anti- fungal ect but it does not say anything about picking feathers ect.

• For the effective treatment of fungus, infections, ringworm, surface wounds, cuts, galls, hoof-foot and pad sores, chafes, abrasions, moist or scabby lesions, itchy fungus eczema and sores.
• Blu-Kote is a germicidal, fungicidal wound dressing and healing aid effective against both bacterial and fungus infections most common in skin lesions of domestic animals.
• Kills ringworm and fungus infections.
• Dries up blisters and pox-like scabby sores or lesions