I think I found a miracle cure for feather picking

[azygous]

Hah! I'm ahead on this one! I've been feeding my characters carrots for years on a pretty regular basis. I plant a huge crop every summer, harvest them, store them in sand in bins and feed them all winter until they're all eaten. The last few are about gone. I usually buy carrots after I run out and keep feeding them until I have a new crop.

Last summer, I planted some of those African "red" carrots, they're kind of purple. (terrible tasting, though), and I can vouch carrots certainly have not improved their behavior. Egg laying? not sure about that. They've always been pretty good layers. Why else would I not have slaughtered the entire bunch by now?

Now, find a study where carrots CAUSE cannibalism and we'll have it nailed!

 

[Lacy Blues]

Well, I don't know how much stock I would put into the study but I think they were talking about the combination of ensiled corn, ensiled pea/barley mix plus fresh purple carrots, including the tops for forage materials. Not a single ingredient.

I give my birds carrots too, not every meal but they do get them.

 

[Sharon Bee]

Hmmmm...carrots. Never thought about giving them carrots. It would keep them busy too for awhile. A couple of big raw ones.

 

[Sharon Bee]

Azygous:
How many chickens do you have? Do they still have the peepers on? I'm about to put the last 3 on the brown ones as they are still picked. The rest are actually improving. Their egg laying has reduced also. It has been a tough winter for all of us.

 

[azygous]

Take a thin eye screw and screw it into the top of the big carrot. Then tie a string to the eye screw and hang it in the middle of the run. They'll nibble at it and it'll keep them entertained for hours. Hang cabbage this way, too. And apples and parsnips.

I have twenty chickens and, by last count, seven are wearing peepers. A couple of them have continued to nibble at feathers because their brains adjust way too easily to the peepers. It does slow them down, however. You should leave the peepers on for at least three months before removing them. A lot of times, they will have forgotten their picking habit, and it can last for months before they start up again.

I've noticed the picking is bad in late winter, early spring, then they'll be fine all summer. They will start up again sometime following molt. It's really not a pattern, though. So don't count on it.

 

[Sharon Bee]

That sounds like a great idea. I will hang a carrot or cabbage. I do put lettuce, kale, etc into a suet cage which is hanging in their coop. That keeps them amused but they get the greens out quite quickly.

 

[kouros]

Hi All,
My chickens have stopped picking feathers. !! Yaa HOooo.. After doing lots and lots of research I realized that they needed more protein..I gave them a little extra in the form of scrambled eggs, cooked chicken every other day...Whaaa Laaaaaa no more picking. I stopped for a little while and Honey, the main culprit started picking feathers again, she does lay 1 egg every day... soo now that the snow has melted and there is more to forage I give less ,1 every 3-5 days and it seems to be still working. I will stop when Spring really gets here and see what happens!! Hope this helps! OBTW I have six wonderful girls, 2 Auss, 2 Partridge Cochin, 1 Golden
Lace Wing Cochin and 1 Americana. They all free range. Happy Spring !!

 

[azygous]

Please keep us posted. I certainly hope this works for your flock. Only time will tell.

Feeding extra, high quality protein hasn't worked for me, as well as others. Sometimes we think we have stumbled on the miracle cure when a few weeks or months go by and the picking returns. The reason could be lack of protein is the cause of picking in your flock while in others, there are other, more elusive reasons.

 

[Lacy Blues]

Perhaps it is the animal protein. There is a vast difference between that and synthetic hormones/amino acids. I have enough birds in the freezer that I may give this a try. After all, I don't have anything to lose, besides more feathers!

 

[azygous]

My flock is already the most pampered in history! Feeding them steak and lobster would be the ultimate.

But seriously, when Flo first began exhibiting her feather picking proclivities, I fed her canned tuna on a regular basis, and it did nothing for her problem. That's when I began to suspect it was in the wiring in her tiny brain.

I suspect there is more than one cause for feather picking. Animal protein may solve it, if lack of it is the cause in a flock.

I wish there were convenient tests one could utilize for chickens, like blood tests in humans to determine dietary deficiencies.