How to stop feather picking?

AlexEve

Chirping
May 9, 2020
168
100
98
Calgary, Alberta
I have a RIR that gets her breast feathers picked out by my other two hens. I've increased the protein and calcium in their diet and the RIR's feathers still haven't grown back. I even bought a pecking block so the birds have something else to peck at and very little change. Its been months and I'm out of ideas. I want to fix this solution within the next month because thats when the temps drop, and I don't want her to freeze up. Anyone have any ideas?
 
How old are they? How much space do they have in the coop and in the run? Do you have any pictures of her you could post? You have just the three birds? Pictures of your set up might be helpful also. Boredom and over crowding are very common reasons for feather picking, and crowding is based on each birds individual personality and temperament, it can vary greatly from flock to flock and bird to bird. If you have a very dominant bird that is bullying then sometimes separating that bird for a period of time will reset the pecking order. In some cases people use pinless peepers on birds that pick on other birds. Adding space, or adding places for her to hide behind (and not be cornered) or get up and away, may help, or adding roosting space. Feather picking often happens on the roosts as they wrestle for space. The feathers may not fill back in until she molts, so age would tell when that might happen. Most birds will do OK in the cold unless they are really bald, some birds molt later in the year, in winter when it's cold, and usually do OK.
 
How old are they? How much space do they have in the coop and in the run? Do you have any pictures of her you could post? You have just the three birds? Pictures of your set up might be helpful also. Boredom and over crowding are very common reasons for feather picking, and crowding is based on each birds individual personality and temperament, it can vary greatly from flock to flock and bird to bird. If you have a very dominant bird that is bullying then sometimes separating that bird for a period of time will reset the pecking order. In some cases people use pinless peepers on birds that pick on other birds. Adding space, or adding places for her to hide behind (and not be cornered) or get up and away, may help, or adding roosting space. Feather picking often happens on the roosts as they wrestle for space. The feathers may not fill back in until she molts, so age would tell when that might happen. Most birds will do OK in the cold unless they are really bald, some birds molt later in the year, in winter when it's cold, and usually do OK.
The dominant hen is a year and a half while the other two are 3 months younger. The coop is about 12 square feet while the run is 33 square feet, so about 4 and 11 square feet per bird. I don’t have pics of my setup at the moment, but they have a 3x11 foot run that has the last 4 feet covered by the coop overhead, and a pecking block and waterer for entertainment (guessing it’s not enough). Because the RIR is at the bottom of the pecking order, she chooses to sleep in their laying corner instead of on the roost. I’ve attached pics of her neck stretched out and hunched in
 

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