I think I found a miracle cure for feather picking

[Sunflowergirl]

Lacy Blues, one thing about yogurt is that the bacteria have broken down the milk sugars that are hard to digest. I have a lactose-intolerant friend that can eat yogurt for that very reason. I too have gotten me a batch of FORCO. Doing that along with doing the apples and cabbage for boredom. I have put in a bale of alfalfa hay in the run even though it made me nervous since people have reported impacted crops. I have been watching them on it and they tend to scratch out the long straws and eat the finer stuff. I am also doing sprouts and fodder. As far as I can tell, I THINK the picking has either stopped or slowed down.

 

[Lacy Blues]

It's sure a fine idea to have an alternative to try. Do report back.

You're completely right about chickens benefiting from amusing distractions. Instead of simply tossing their scratch feed and BOSS ration on the ground every afternoon for them to gobble up in just minutes, I put the seeds into empty Gator Aid bottles, drilled with 1/4 inch holes. They are all captivated by the challenge of rolling the bottles around with their beaks and feet to get the grain to spill out.

When apples aren't too expensive at the store, I twist them onto eye screws and hang them in the run. It gives "bobbing for apples" a new definition. I do the same with jumbo carrots and, of course, cabbage. Try purple cabbage for entertaining neon-pink droppings! I always keep a flock block for them to pick at, too.

For those who have not given raising meal worms any consideration, they're almost as much fun as raising chickens!

By the way, meet Flo, in the bright blue peepers, which she no longer is wearing. At least for now, as long as she's being a good girl.

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Ok, I want to know what is hanging in the fishing net in that picture? Your birds look really good. I'm really aggravated at my birds right now because they all just pretty much finished their molts and they're already picked!

 

[azygous]

The glob inside the "net", which is plastic deer netting, is what's left of a flock block. After the block gets so small that it's reduced to chunks and pieces, I wrap it in the deer netting and hang it.

Thanks for the compliment! They look even better now that they've all completed molt, or just about completed it. Sometimes, I think people mistake molt for feather-picking. And some chickens can get stuck in an extended molt. It's always a wise thing to make sure you see the feather-plucking occurring so you know that's, in fact, what you're dealing with.

Forco has helped with the problem of extended molt, too, by increasing the nutrient absorption in the affected bird. I was feeding tuna for extended molt, and had a problem with Acites in that bird. I can't know for sure it was related, but I've been leery of feeding tuna ever since.

 

[chickiemomy]

I started giving my chicks forco about 4 months ago I think. I was concerned about the amount of feathers they were losing, because I was too inexperienced to know that that was normal for little guys to molt 3 times in their first 6 months. Regardless, once I figured that all out, I continued with the Forco as 1) I already had it!, 2) they seem to be thriving & you know what, I may be imagining things, but 3) I really think their poop smells less. I'm attributing that to better digestion.

I have 6 pullets - born early May 2012 - 2 buckeyes, 2 black australorps & 2 gold sex links - I mix a scant scoop into several tablespoons of whole milk natural yogurt each morning - mix in enough feed to make it gloppy - add a few BOSS, any scraps from the day before & top the dish off with a scattering of broken up egg shells. Put into 2 dishes to minimize squabbling over breakfast - let the girls out & stand back!

Any one interested in nutrition & digestion may be interested in the fermented feed thread. I'm not ready to go to the work to ferment for the chicks, but I understand the principle & I see many parallels in the results people see between forco & ferment. (I do ferment for myself & family - best pickles & sauerkraut EVER). Makes sense that both things increase effective digestion and overall wellness.

Luckily I'm able to get Forco supplement locally as there are many horse folks here - talked my brother into trying Forco for his small flock. His flock is a year older, and they appeared to be very stressed during molt this last fall, he unfortunately lost one - perhaps too stressed - but since supplementing & otherwise increasing protein to his flock with yogurt & I think he was giving them cat food for a while also - they are doing better and resuming some egg laying.

Thanks for the continuing saga azygous - have appreciated & used the knowledge you're sharing! Thx also to the forco guy who earlier took some heat for his posting - he was helpful as well. Am going to try the bottle with cracked corn & seeds inside - looks like a good entertainment for them.

Funny - just put the Forco container in the garage - hubby came in the house with it & said "Are you feeding the chickens HORSE FOOD???" "yes, I am", I said. "O, I just wondered because there are horses on this container & I thought that was a little odd." "Well ..." & I went into pre-biotic discussion - at which he rolled his eyes - went into - 'wish I'd never asked' mode... LOL

 

[azygous]

Thanks for the report! You're the first to try Forco on their flock and come back to share results.

Mixing it in yogurt is a novel idea. I may give that a try. Chickens love variety in their cuisine.

I have a hunch that Forco may be created by the fermenting process you've mentioned. They are now designing a new label that will indicate its use for poultry. It seems a lot of people are a bit hesitant about the current label stating it's for horses. I've been using it for my nineteen-year old cat, and I've no doubt I'm getting additional "mileage" out of him because of it. LOL.

 

[azygous]

With grim disappointment, I must report that Flo has relapsed back into her frenzied, compulsive feather-picking ways.

It's been building up for the past several days so I put her in chicken jail this afternoon after the flock had spent a few hours free-ranging. I returned later to check on Flo, and there she was, wandering freely with the others in the main part of the pen. She had figured out how to escape. I returned her to the "jail" enclosure and sat down to watch how she did it. She jumped up onto the perch, and flexed her knees several times, then made a giant leap over the fence.

While I was fixing the fence to make it escape-proof, I saw Flo racing around from one hen to the next, relieving them of feathers. I haven't seen Flo in such a feather-picking frenzy since before I tried Forco on the flock for the first time. She was like a tractor mower, shaving feathers from one end of the pen to the other.

This is after I trimmed her beak back to the quick, and hand-feeding her Forco ration to her each day to make sure she got her share.

I have no clue what has caused this current relapse. Perhaps it's the stress from starting to lay again after fall molt. But she's been laying for about two weeks now. She's definitely more hyper than usual. I'm hoping this is temporary, like her other relapses, and Flo will calm down again and lose her sudden interest in eating feathers.

 

[Lacy Blues]

Feed her some chamomile... it's worth a try...

I picked up an Old Fashioned Farm something or other book from the library a few days ago. I looked up feather eating and it mentioned not only protein as a reason but also salt. I thought that was very interesting. So, the last couple days, I've been sprinkling just a little bit of salt in their ferment mix.

I guess we'll see what happens.

 

[chickenlickin8]

Update: I received the FORCO in the mail yesterday. I fed some sprinkled on their layer crumbles last night and again this morning. They ate it up! So we'll see what happens. I'm still giving a handful of dry cat food too as a treat in the morning and night. Also, apples and oats.

AZYGOUS, sounds like you have a relentless bad girl over there. Mine aren't quite that bad but I've observe mine doing it mostly when dust bathing and not during normal eating, preening and daytime napping when they lay around resting.

Something else I have learned.....back when my girls were 14 weeks, that is when the feather eating started so I fed some dry cat food twice a day, 30% protein, and it stopped the problem cold. There were feathers laying around from moulting and they didn't even touch them. Once they started laying, suddenly they went back to eating feathers and I saw small bald patches starting to appear on some of their backs.

Your FLO started laying again and that's when her feather eating picked up again, correct? Laying must trigger a need for extra protein for sure! I hope FLO stops soon.

I will keep you guys posted on my progress.

 

[Sunflowergirl]

Lacy Blues, what kind of salt? Like iodized table salt or kosher flake salt? Do you mean like some chamomile tea to calm her down?
Thanks!

Feed her some chamomile... it's worth a try...

I picked up an Old Fashioned Farm something or other book from the library a few days ago. I looked up feather eating and it mentioned not only protein as a reason but also salt. I thought that was very interesting. So, the last couple days, I've been sprinkling just a little bit of salt in their ferment mix.

I guess we'll see what happens.

 

[azygous]

Yeah, it just occurred to me that the onset of egg-laying has probably caused a protein drain in Flo's system.

I have some meal worms just getting to the size to be harvested. How many worms, average of an inch long and 1/8th inch diameter, do you think would be a therapeutic dose? Up until now, I've only been feeding meal worms as an occasional treat, not as medicine for a protein deficiency.

Flo is in jail this morning, and appears calm and content. It's not until late afternoon that she becomes agitated and driven to zero in on feathers.

And how much cat food would be a therapeutic dose? A teaspoon? A half cup?