I think I found a miracle cure for feather picking

[sunflour]

If you are letting her hatch some eggs, you may have to remove her once the chicks start getting feathers on their little backs... maybe 6 weeks. Watch her because she may resume her nasty habit on them. If you remove her, just be ready with heat for the chicks as it will be a lot colder by then.

We had this happen with one of our broodies and she got quickly yanked out of the pen where the babies stayed. She was my daughter's bird so I don't know what happened to her after that.

No roosters, she just goes broody and sits others eggs or empty nests.

 

[Sharon Bee]

My brown chickens are still being picked on badly. The one is especially bad but I think she annoys the others as she acts strangely and has a terrible sounding cluck. Very croaky. Her neck and thighs are bare and her back and base of tail. Unsightly. Poor thing. Pinless peepers didn't really help either.

 

[Gldnrose]

Hollering at your feather picker may not be a miracle cure, but it appears it may work.

I haven't taken my hollering at Flo as a method of curtailing her feather picking very seriously until today. Up until now, I couldn't really say it was cause and effect, rather than Flo coincidentally getting tired of drilling for feathers for the time being. But I spent some time pursuing this, and it seems to get results.

It was mid-morning, Flo and Joycie were spending time away from the flock in their private enclosure, otherwise known as chicken jail. I was just outside the run's back window, sweeping up pine needles. I heard Joycie's "Gaack!", and looked in to see Flo drilling her neck. I hollered, "Flo!" in a loud voice so she could hear me through the window. Flo looked up, upon hearing my voice and stopped.

A few seconds later, she took another stab at Joycie's neck. I hollered again. Flo stopped and looked up. This time I stood there and watched. The second I saw Flo, unfreeze and look at Joycie's neck, I hollered, "Flo!" She froze and looked up.

This time, Flo moved away from Joycie, and didn't go back to picking feathers for the rest of the day, as far as I could tell. But I was within hearing of the run and never heard Joycie's squawking, "Gaack!" and whenever I checked in with them, Flo was always doing something away from Joycie. She appears not to dare pick anyone else's feathers.

This technique may have merit if you can spare some time for your feather picker and hound her like I do Flo. I don't know if it's necessary for your picker to know her name like Flo does, but she probably will respond to a single voice command, like "No!"

The question is, will hollering affect the other chickens? It does appear to startle my other chickens when I holler at Flo, but I doubt that it's interrupting any particular focused activity such as Flo's. Flo now seems to respond to my hollering her name when she is feather picking, and she interrupts the behavior. It would be interesting if some of you could try this, and see if you get any reaction from your picker.

Please report the results back here.

I have yelled NO also and my plucker does stop. I'm just not home enough during the day to really instill that. I think it could work, but it would have to be a constant thing and they sure can sneak a pluck in mighty quick, lol.

My pinless peepers finally came in and we put them on Miss "plucker". She took them off. Put them back on.....they were off at roost time

Great, I have a chicken that refuses to wear them.

I was so disappointed. I left them off for a couple of days.

In the meantime I see Cindy looks like a porcupine! She has so many pin feathers. Yay! She's also started her molt. I believe the others are right behind her. The coop and yard looks like a pillow exploded.

I tried the peepers again on Saturday and this time they have stayed on (knock on wood). I see tiny pin feathers coming in on the other girls too.

This will be so nice to have fully feathered chickens again, not only to look at but also for the upcoming winter.

Fingers crossed that these peepers keep working.

 

[azygous]

Glad the peepers are sticking this time. They do work.

Were you able to actually see her remove them? I've had the others try to pluck the peepers off the wearer when they saw a hen wearing them for the first time. I prevented that after subsequent installations by scattering a handful of peepers around the run to distract the flock when I returned a hen wearing fresh peepers. They were desensitized by all the peepers lying around that they left the peeper wearer alone.

Flo and Joycie are having breakfast together this morning in their private quarters, free from harassment. Flo has been very good about leaving Joycie alone. One incident a couple days ago where I yelled "Flo!" a couple times and she stopped what she was doing.

It seems to be working more than not. And Flo is not picking much at all these days. I'll keep reporting on this.

 

[Cluckies]

Ordered some peepers form here: http://cutlersupply.com/zen_new51/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4_111&products_id=820 has anyone ordered from there? hopefully they fit. now we wait. Cluck-Cluck still in prison during the work day, free range when I get home.

I did see mother try and pick some feathers off of Silly Goose, she went after mother with a vengeance. I don't know if she is getting confidence back? or if it is because Mother is the lower than her in the pecking order...

 

[Sharon Bee]

I used the pinless peepers also. Didn't really work but it helped for awhile. I took them all off for the summer but some are really being picked again.

I'm going to order the butterfly saddles next. To hopefully help the worst ones from being plucked bare!

 

[Gldnrose]

Glad the peepers are sticking this time. They do work.

Were you able to actually see her remove them? I've had the others try to pluck the peepers off the wearer when they saw a hen wearing them for the first time. I prevented that after subsequent installations by scattering a handful of peepers around the run to distract the flock when I returned a hen wearing fresh peepers. They were desensitized by all the peepers lying around that they left the peeper wearer alone.

Flo and Joycie are having breakfast together this morning in their private quarters, free from harassment. Flo has been very good about leaving Joycie alone. One incident a couple days ago where I yelled "Flo!" a couple times and she stopped what she was doing.

It seems to be working more than not. And Flo is not picking much at all these days. I'll keep reporting on this.

We saw her remove them once. The other time, she had them on when they went in to roost and when I went to close up the coop they were off. I can only assume it was her. I had read earlier in this thread where you had mentioned throwing extra peepers on the ground and I did do that. The other girls inspected them and when I put the girl back in they just kind of looked at her and went about their business so I will always do that whenever I have to put on peepers (which I hope isn't often, lol).

This time she still has them on. I don't know if she just gave up trying to get them off or what. She seems pretty well adjusted to them so that's good. I do feel bad, but the feather picking had to be squashed. Funny thing is, when she would pluck feathers she would eat them, and now there are tons of feathers laying around and she isn't eating any of them. So wouldn't that definitely lead to the conclusion that it's not a protein problem and just a nasty old habit or dominance thing?

I'm glad your Flo has been behaving herself )

Also, egg production is way down. Granted, I only have four hens, but was getting about four a day, give or take. Now I am lucky if there is one a day. But between molting and days getting shorter I expected it. I am not doing supplemental lighting. I will let them have their rest period. I am curious though if all eggs will stop completely? They started laying last year in November and laid all through the winter, but that was their first year laying so I think that is normal.

Ordered some peepers form here: http://cutlersupply.com/zen_new51/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4_111&products_id=820 has anyone ordered from there? hopefully they fit. now we wait. Cluck-Cluck still in prison during the work day, free range when I get home.

I did see mother try and pick some feathers off of Silly Goose, she went after mother with a vengeance. I don't know if she is getting confidence back? or if it is because Mother is the lower than her in the pecking order...

I ordered mine off of Ebay. The person sold just peepers or peepers with the tool to put them on so that's what I got. I am glad I bought the tool, they are some strong little plastic buggers, lol.
Good luck with them when you get them.
Keep up posted.

 

[Lacy Blues]

Also, egg production is way down. Granted, I only have four hens, but was getting about four a day, give or take. Now I am lucky if there is one a day. But between molting and days getting shorter I expected it. I am not doing supplemental lighting. I will let them have their rest period. I am curious though if all eggs will stop completely? They started laying last year in November and laid all through the winter, but that was their first year laying so I think that is normal.

They will stop completely and yes, laying through their first winter is normal, unless it is terribly cold, they might slow down some in that instance.

 

[Cluckies]

Well, I got them (the peepers), but they were red instead of the green in the photo

I tried to put a pair on cluck-cluck anyways, but she only has slits for nostrils, so they wouldn't go on as the prongs are so big? I ordered some from the eggcarton place, hopefully they are blue, they told me to just specify the color I want in the notes. Hopefully they will fit better, I'll let you know when I get them. Cluck cluck continues to spend my working days in prison inside the henhouse, she free ranges and gets to sleep with the other girls on the roost. when they are free ranging she seems to leave goose and the others alone for the most part. Everyone else seems much calmer since she is locked up. Mother tries to "help" goose with her feathers still, but not as much. She will get a pair too probably. They can still visit cluck cluck in the henhouse, some spend much of the day in there with her. I think to get out of the wind, it is always so dang windy here.

 

[azygous]

I just went back to the beginning of this thread and read my first post. I can't believe Flo is four years old already, and I've been battling this problem almost all of her life. This thread ought to be of value if only for the chronicling of a severe feather picker and the progress of the disorder. I'd venture to guess that most severe pickers get culled and no one has really been able to see if the disorder keeps getting worse of if it can eventually correct itself.

I don't know if it's correcting itself in Flo, but it seems to be getting better. Whether it's coincidence or my hollering at her when I see her starting to drill Joycie, I can't say. But yesterday she again responded to my hollering her name as she went for Joycie's tender feathers.

I noticed the two were cuddled up together in the warmth of the afternoon, Joycie snoozing while Flo preened. Occasionally Flo would make a preening pass over Joycie's feathers which were right next to her beak, which was a different motion than the straight-on drilling motion signalling intent to pick. I was right in having my guard up because the temptation was too great, and the next motion was "intent-to-pick".

I hollered "Flo!" and she looked up, then resumed her preening, behaving the rest of the afternoon.

I have another incipient feather picker and if she takes it past the point of occasionally indulging, I'll have the opportunity to test this strategy on her. Training a younger picker with the hollering strategy is the only way to see if it actually works or if Flo is simply retiring from picking on her own volition, and my hollering is merely coincidental to her losing interest.

By the way, beak holes do stretch out to accommodate the peeper prongs. What I might have done though, is to file down the prongs with a Dremmel tool if they were too big.