I think I found a miracle cure for feather picking

[pegm]

Azygous, here is a pic of Mer with her peepers, and Goldie with her full tail

 

[azygous]

Ah! The smell of sweet success!

 

[azygous]

Flo, the serial feather stalker, hasn't touched anyone's feathers for three weeks. That's how long the flock has been eating fermented feed. I can't say there's a direct correlation, but it is coincidental, and that's good for starters.

I removed Flo's pinless peepers today. In the past, she's never been able to go beyond three days without resuming feather-picking. Keep your fingers crossed.

I've been fermenting the Feather Fixer with the regular feed, and this is what Flo has been eating for the past three weeks. So it could factor in the results. Fermenting Feather fixer results in a very, very smelly product. It smells like a herd of elephants farting in the garage for the first several days of fermentation. Ghastly! I'm nearly to the bottom of that bucket, and won't be using Feather Fixer in future buckets. If the Feather Fixer has had any effect on Flo's changed behavior, we'll know that it was responsible if she reverts after eating the new fermentation for awhile.

It's all experimental. But we're closer than we were before to having a cure for feather picking, chicken peeps!

 

[Lacy Blues]

Why kick a good thing? It may smell but at least its in the garage. If it is meeting Flo's needs, then I would continue. I look forward to hearing how she does now without her peepers but I wouldn't take it away if I was you. Just my 2 cents.

 

[azygous]

I may rethink the Feather Fixer if Flo reverts. But I'm banking on the fermented feed itself, with or without Feather Fixer, being the cure. It appears to be doing what I'd hoped Forco would accomplish, and that is to make the nutrients more thoroughly utilized.

And my garage is attached to the kitchen, so the smell very much affected how the house smelled. The Feather Fixer has an active yeast culture and I'm pretty sure it's responsible for the stink.

 

[azygous]

Temptation courageously averted:

Joycie (vigorously preening under the nervous beak of serial feather-picker Flo): "Look Flo! Yum! Yum! Tasty feathers!"
Flo (quietly keeping former brooder mate Joycie company whilst she vigorously preens): "Umm, you go ahead, I'll just watch".

So far, so good!

 

[pegm]

So is fermented feed still keeping Flo the Serial Feather Stalker in check? I have my fingers crossed for you and her victims.

 

[azygous]

Yes! She's been on the fermented feed for not quite six weeks now, and has shown no desire whatsoever for feathers! She also seems calmer, less nervous and fretful.

I would highly recommend to anyone with a feather picking problem that has defied resolution to give this a try.

 

[chickenlickin8]

Hi! Something I have been using that seems to work is FORCO. My last two flocks of chickens, I have fed the FORCO from day 1 as chicks and continue to feed it as a treat in their daily diet. No feather eating among the girls at all. It makes their feather gorgeous and shiny. It's a little costly but worth it to me.

 

[azygous]

You obviously haven't read this thread. We explored Forco in depth with comments directly from one of the distributors. Forco is an old, tried and true product, and is now being marketed to chicken growers since this thread originated. All the animals in my household are on it.