Hens picking feathers, NOTHING will stop them. *Brief Update! And 1 ?

[ThePolishPrincess]

Lol, lots of posts. Thanks everyone. Okay, here it goes.

The birds get alot of treats. We throw in veggies and fruits and they go nuts for them, but as soon as the food is gone they go back to pecking.

We feed out girls Layer rations (can't get the % right now, tomorrow, though) with grit (only recently introduced) and oyster shell. They also get a few handfulls of scratch every once in a while. Is it possible they are getting TOO MUCH of something?

I can't get the measures of how big their run and coop is, as I my dad built it, but I remember correctly that they should have enough space. I think they are bored, however we cannot free-range all day. They really like the neighbor's mulch. But they DO get let out in the late afternoon and are allowed to roam until dark. They don't have enough time to run to the neighbor's yard, only enough time to eat.

What can I do that will increase their protien intake? (I doubt my mom will allow me to use catfood, she eats the eggs and gets really skeeved out.) Something cheap, please. I'd have to buy it myself. My parents really don't like spending money on the animals uness it is totally necessary. Will yogurt work? What else gives protien for chickens?

I'd try the salt thing but they don't get to the blood. They really have never caused one of the birds to bleed, they just snap off pieces of feathers.

Okay, about pine tar...are we able to eat eggs when the birds have it on/take a pick at it? Also, how long does it take to come off? If I can't put it everywhere on her, are the peckers going to just peck at the places that aren't covered in the stuff?

I can't separate them. We only have one coop and one run. At the moment, there is really only one chicken I need to worry about. (My Wyandotte.) And she'd need a shelter, a place to escape from predators (she's slow) and somewhere to lay her eggs. I must keep them as a group.

I WAS thinking about peepers, though. Can anyone expain how they work? What keeps them on? Will they be able to flee from predators? Is there any specific kind I should get/is recommended? Do they make them for standards and banties alike? I really need some help here.

Over all, I think this started out as an, "I'm bored" thing and soon after became a "This is fun thing", but then turned into, "Oh...hey! You there! Stop! I just need to peck-okay! Just needed to get that. Okay, you can go now."

Thank you for your patience.

 

[Judy]

I am guessing the problem is a combination of space and reduced protein intake from the amount of fruits and veggies, which have little or no protein, so they reduce the amount of feed they eat. I imagine you really don't want to cut back on them, though, since it is a distraction for them. Cat food is not a great solution for the long term, because of some of its components that are not good for chickens. A little now and then won't hurt, though. I don't think it would affect the taste of the eggs, if that is what you are thinking. Game bird feed is a lot higher in protein than either chicken feed or scratch; scratch is the lowest of the three. One thing you could do is get a small bag of game bird feed, if you can find one, and gradually switch them over to it as a treat by replacing the scratch with it (mix them, gradually increasing the amount of game bird feed.) Some here use black oil sunflower seeds for their extra protein, which is fine if they will eat it; I have never been able to get mine to. There should be some in the game bird feed. Your layer is probably 16% protein. If it is 15%, many here consider that a little too low. Live culture plain yogurt is great for them but not cheap in any quantity. You could pick up a carton or two, though. It is good for their guts, too. You might have to mix a little with a little feed or a favorite veggie to get them eating it.

Pine tar is very messy and smelly, and will get all over everything. And yes, you can eat the eggs if you use it. But you might not have much more luck with it than with Blue Kote and Hot Pick. If you want to try the peepers, from what I have read on here, you want the pinless peepers sold by Randall Burkey. $6.99 for 10 of them, plus shipping, of course. They have two little prongs that fit into the nostrils. I have read here that they stop pecking very well. I've never tried them.

It would be good to isolate the peckers for a week or so. I realize this is not easy for you, but you did isolate a rooster, so I am just throwing this out here. If you remove the peckers temporarily, when you reintroduce them, they will then be at the bottom of the pecking order. I don't mean to criticize you for isolating your rooster so he could heal, please understand that; I imagine he appreciated it! Just saying that it also reinforced his being at the bottom of the order. It is possible you could stop the whole problem if you could work something out with your folks to get the 3 peckers isolated for a week, then put them all back together.

What you also might do is measure the coop and pen, and figure the square footage, if only to see where you are at. The rule of thumb often advocated here is a minimum of 4 sq ft per bird in the coop and 10 sq ft in the run, in case you did not know. At least this way you will know where you stand and can consider this for future planning.

My picked on hen only lost feathers on her back, so I made her a saddle. You can make one for nothing or almost nothing with a scrap of polarfleece and a pair of scissors. Here is a link that shows how; scroll down the page: https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=167 I didn't even include the tail hole, just the wing holes. Don't know how much help this will be for you since they are pulling from wings, etc. as well. It would be a protection if one gets bloody on the back, though.

Since they like the neighbor's mulch, maybe you could come up with a few handfuls of something similar to put in their run for them to scratch in. Many on here use grass clippings. Anything you might have around would probably be fine: last fall's dried leaves, hay, straw, pine straw, maybe a little of your bedding, etc. Actually, a bag of mulch at the garden store is not expensive, maybe $3 -$4 or so, and pine straw is even cheaper, if you can get it. You could hide some scratch/seed/game bird feed in it, and keep them busy scratching them out. Choose pine over cedar.

Good luck!

 

[chickeypoo]

is the peckee a different color than the others? i do know sometimes that may be a problem... i dunno.

sue

 

[farrier!]

From what you are feeding I would also say they are way too low on protein.

 

[nnbreeder]

Are the hens picking each other or just the roosters? If they are picking each other it is probably a feed problem. If they are picking the roosters only it is a natural behavior.

With the Oriental Games that I have I see this often. The hens will usually just pluck neck feathers though.

 

[ChookNewbieOfTheDesert]

If you have a worm-farm you could try giving them worms for extra protein (watch out though because apparently earthworms can carry roundworm -- but then the soil itself has roundworm also). Letting them free range should enable them to obtain a few grubs here and there. We had a severe feather-picking problem last year from hens we'd inherited who'd been keep in rather close conditions. It was difficult to break them of the habit, but they did eventually stop.

 

[joyful-homemaker]

I have this problem from time to time and honestly the cheap catfood is your best bet. We still eat our eggs when we have to do it, no difference to us. just like feeding chicken feed. I put out a shallow casserole dish and put the catfood in it, It takes them about 3 days to eat it and the pecking is done. I have to do this everytime I feed them feed from tsc.
We did this several weeks ago and everyones feathers are growing back nicely.
Hope you can try this it really is the cheapest easiest solution and lasts a long time.
If you cant try this, could you scramble them some eggs? This helps too.

 

[ThePolishPrincess]

I'm so sorry for not getting back to you all for so long. I've been up to my neck in studying for finals and regents exams for school. No time to get online at all.

Okay, 2 questions about the Gamefowl food. We know our store sells it and my father agreed to by some, but not without giving me a few thoughs before we invest in it.

1. Is it possible that our birds won't like it and just won't eat it? My chickens have a habit of being picky. They don't even like eggs.

and 2. We keep Muscovy ducks with our chickens. They free range during the day (don't eat breakfast with the flock) but they do eat dinner with them. Will Gamefowl feed harm my ducks? We just can't get it if it isn't good for them.

To answer other questions, the largefowl peckers are mixes (2 white, 1 black) and the banty hen is buff. The peckees are 1 mille fleur, one black, and one columbian. I don't think color has anything to do with it.

A few other hens have gotten pecked as well, but it hasn't been nearly as bad as it has for the roosters and one hen.

The chickens find worms all the time on their own.

They really don't like eggs. The first time, they pecked at them at first but thm left them alone. The second time, they didn't even touch them.

I guess I can look into pine tar, but that will be my last resort. It will take some convincing to get my parents to accept the idea. They can never simply take my word for it.

The problem with isolating the other birds is that they are very large. My rooster was a banty and although I'm sure he was thanking me, was small enough to fit with comfort in a small dog crate. I have NOWHERE to put them. We have no set up and even if I isolated them (by free-range) they'd still have contact with the rest of the flock. And to make it all the worse, 3 of the peckers are te highest in the pecking order.

I am considering a saddle. It will keep her back feathers safe but because hat isn't her only pecked area, I want to try to stop it all in one shot.

I've been throwing some grass and other greens in with them a few times a day. I'm really hoping this wasn't caused by bordem. I've tried hanging fruits and veggies all around their run and coop but they won't try to jump for them.

Lazy!

As far as diet goes, I've been attempting to cut down on their feed but when I do, I often see them running over to me more than usual. I feel like I'm starving them. I'm trying to get them used to little or no scratch (I've been giving them less and less each day, gradually) for a few weeks and they notice the difference. Now when I feed them, they are ravenous. I have to make some new plans.

 

[rachiegirl]

First of all, good luck on all the tests!
Now, would it be possible to keep the peckers separated from the rest by using a dog crate inside the run? You could probably find one to borrow if you need one big enough.( You could put them in with the rest at night to sleep then put them back in the crate first thing in the a.m. if need be. Just make sure you do it after they are asleep.) Then slowly, one at a time reintroduce the pickers. This would hopefully knock the pickers down a peg in the pecking order. I would think reintroducing them all together wouldn't work as well as they will still have their own pecking order established, and will then act as a group to keep bullying/pecking the others.
It can be tough to get them to try new things. Try mixing some of their feed/favorite treat in with the new snack, that usually works for me. It also goes over better if you give them new snacks when they are hungry, they are more likely to try it. As far as cat food, it is cheap so give it a try. I do not think noshing on a bit of kibble will change the taste of the eggs.
You could also try meat of some kind. Mine really enjoyed picking at the leftover cooked chicken/bones. Which I found ironically hilarious of course. Yogurt is good, cheapest stuff they have is fine. Mine like it better when I put a handful of their food in it to give some texture. Canned tuna would be worth a try too, again cheap stuff in water is fine.
Those are all pretty cheap things to try, just do it when they are hungry. If that means holding off filling the feeder a little longer so be it. With the things like cat food, tuna and chicken etc., try offering a piece at a time from your hand. They also seem more likely to eat it if they have to fight for it!
Good luck with the tests and chickies!

 

[PonyPuller302]

I am not chicken expert. We were having the same problem with our Cockrel Americana crosses. The man we got them from said to trim off the tip of their beak. We used a pair of dog nail clippers. And it did stop the problem. I have noticed that when the beak grows back. They will start doing it again. Good Luck!