I think I found a miracle cure for feather picking

[chickenlickin8]

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.

That's great and my chickens love that stuff. I certainly apologize that you found my comment of no value....old news. Good luck and Happy New Year to you

 

[Lacy Blues]

Perhaps Forco is instrumental in keeping that nasty habit from ever starting in the first place but maybe not so good in a confirmed feather stalker!

Something I noticed today that I'm not sure what to do about. My son has a pair of bantam Speckled Sussex. The female had a completely bare back last year. He finally separated them because this rooster would mate her (seemingly endlessly) and wearing the feathers off her back. That rooster now has a little silkie cross girl in with him. Its been a few months and so far she doesn't look to bad. I was out in the coop today working on something and I noticed the silkie girl in the corner trying to lay an egg. That male sussex bantam was standing over her, plucking feathers out of her back to eat! He has been getting fermented feed since we got him 2 years ago. I think I am going to trim his beak really short (without drawing blood) so that he cannot get hold of her feathers. In the long run, its my son's decision as they are his birds.

 

[azygous]

Chickenlickin, that comment of mine to yours was truly snotty. It was uncalled for and I hope you will accept my apology. I do appreciate all input regarding this topic, and I thank you.

Yes, we've found Forco to be very valuable to the flock's diet. It just adds peace of mind.

Gosh, Lacy! That's terrible! You've done everything I thought would prevent feather picking! Now I'm worried for Flo again.

Are you absolutely certain that bantam roo was plucking feathers and not just sliding his beak across the little hen's back? Did you see him take out any feathers? I've seen my girls do the beak sliding on each other in the dirt holes, always when one is relaxing. Today, one of the pullets was doing it to the roo. She was just sliding her beak across his back, like hoeing a row. No feather plucking occurred. I hope with all my heart that's all your roo was doing.

 

[Lacy Blues]

Nope, I watched him pull out feathers and swallow them. However, it may not be totally without hope because I'm pretty sure my son over feeds his birds and that they just pick out their favorite things as we also ferment whole grains along with the feather fixer and game bird grower and we occasionally mix in some BOSS for a treat so he may not be getting what he needs. So, I just gave him (my son) directives about feeding less to make them clean up all their good food and tomorrow we will be trimming his beak back so he can't get a good hold on her feathers. We'll try to keep up with the beak for a while and see if that does it. I don't have a bit for a bantam but I do have something else that I might be able to use to dissuade the behavior... have to dig around and find them. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[azygous]

****! I was really hoping it wasn't picking!

What about trying pinless peepers on him? Or is he too small for them to fit? I had more luck with the peepers on Flo than the bit. She was yanking feathers with the bit as well as she did without. The peepers slowed her down, though it didn't stop her until she began getting the fermented feed.

Is there a lot of waste in your son's run? Do the chickens leave a large amount uneaten? How often does he feed them? About how much for how many birds?

Mine are getting about ten cups of FF for 20 standard chickens. They clean up every last bit. Eight cups in the am, and two cups late in the afternoon. It's mainly flock raiser with some BOSS and scratch mixed in.

 

[Sharon Bee]

Just jumping in here but I'm wondering why all my 11 chickens have no bottom feathers? They had nice bushy bottoms all summer and now suddenly they have bare bums.

I haven't noticed them picking at each other. Wondering if they're doing it at night when they're roosting. The rest of their feathers are fine. They are 7 months old.

 

[Lacy Blues]

He said they eat most of what's in their dish. It is only this rooster and his little silkie/x mate in this pen. He did reduce their food today so hopefully it will force him to eat everything he has instead of picking and choosing and getting himself unbalanced.

I still have to find the little implements I was talking about. We'll see if I can locate them this morning. It's so gorgeous outside and I intend to be out in it getting some things done.

 

[azygous]

Sharon, at seven months, they shouldn't be molting. The main possibilities remaining are feather picking and parasites. Another remote cause could be a fungus caused by perpetually poopy butts, but that's pretty rare, and rarer still that all would be affected.

Is you coop set up where those on a lower perch could be yanking butt feathers of those perched above them? Observe the chickens in the afternoon when they're relaxing and socializing. That's usually when you'll see feather picking if it's going on.

You don't live in a warm, moist climate, but you should check anyway for parasites. They're active at night, so go out with a flashlight and look for things crawling on butts near their vents.

Are the butts perfectly smooth or are their pin feathers dotting the bald spots? It's highly unusual for seven-month olds to have bare butts, and I'm very curious what could be causing it. I hope you can figure it out.

 

[Sharon Bee]

Azygous....Yes the roosts are one offset from the other. When I check on them after dark they are quietly on their roosts.

Their bottoms are quite smooth. Bare skin. It would be cold for them when it is so frigid.

 

[azygous]

Of course, after dark, they're going to be sleeping since they can't see those tempting feathers. My bet is that they're nibbling away at each other's butt feathers as it begins to be light enough for them to see, but not light enough to hop down from the perches.

When I first began my flock, I started out with two adult three-year old hens and soon after, got three six-week old chicks. Not long after, I noticed one of the adults had a perfectly shiny, bald butt, just as you describe your chickens. It was perfectly by chance that I was able to observe one of the chicks situating herself to nibble the feathers from the butt of this hen. It's been so many years that I forget all the details, but I did notice that it was a mistake to situate the perches as I had them

I got busy and figured out a better placement for the perches, and that solved the problem. It was a matter of removing the temptation and easy access to butts. During the day, there was no way those older hens' butts could be vulnerable to naughty chicks.

Meanwhile, you may be able to discourage further feather plucking by painting the pink exposed flesh with Blu-kote. For some reason, the sight of bare flesh stimulates the urge to pick. And Blu-kote is nasty tasting, too, but will help prevent infection if there are any skin lesions.