I think I found a miracle cure for feather picking

[sunflour]

It seems with my birds that they wait to molt until it is quite cold! I think they're crazy. This year though, they're molting already, which scares me into thinking its going to be a bitterly cold winter. Yikes!

2 of my BO's have been molting since early August…they flip in and out of broodiness….read somewhere recently that being broody can trigger molt as well as shortening days.

 

[Sharon Bee]

I have one broody white leghorn. She spends most of her time on the roost to keep away from the rest who are picking on her. She actually runs to me when she sees me. I think for protection. Do chickens do this? Pick on broody hens?

 

[Sylviaanne]

I have one broody white leghorn. She spends most of her time on the roost to keep away from the rest who are picking on her. She actually runs to me when she sees me. I think for protection. Do chickens do this? Pick on broody hens?

I don't know much but I wouldn't think they would pick on her if she is truly broody.

I have a cockerel Cornish X and Welsummer mix. He was from my 2nd hatch of the year and the 22 plus babies that hatched before him have been cruel to him. He is now bigger than most of them, maybe one bigger, maybe. But the ones he is afraid of are smaller than him. He runs to me for protection and hovers near me when I am out there. I think he has an inferiority complex. LOL

 

[Sharon Bee]

She is clucking like she's broody. They never picked on her like this before. They get her right down and pick at her head!

 

[Sylviaanne]

She is clucking like she's broody. They never picked on her like this before. They get her right down and pick at her head!

Has she got any eggs yet?

 

[Sharon Bee]

Has she got any eggs yet?

Do you mean to sit on? No. I don't have a rooster. She's about 16 months old. One of ten chickens that I raised since they were a day old.

 

[Sylviaanne]

You said she's broody. Have you tried to break her of it?

 

[Lacy Blues]

Yep, I've had hens go broody and that different language they speak gets them picked on pretty bad whenever they get off the nest for a few minutes.

If you have any neighbors with chickens and a rooster, maybe you could get her a couple of eggs to hatch out for you. Breaking them of it can be done but in my opinion its easier to just give her a couple eggs, maybe 4 or 6 because often times they won't all hatch and this will give you a couple chicks for her to take care of. So cute!

Of course you need to take your weather into consideration. Your profile says you're in Ontario. Is that Canada? or somewhere else? She will keep the chicks warm, I'd section off part of your coop for her so she doesn't get picked on. How was her social standing before she went broody? Where in the pecking order was she? Usually, having chicks to guard will bring the tiger out in your sweet little hen and nobody will mess with her or the chicks... but I've seen it where it doesn't work too.

 

[Sharon Bee]

Well I think she was in the middle of the pecking order. I have her outside with me at the moment. She's loving it.
I'm in Ontario, Canada. Yes it gets cold in the winter.

 

[azygous]

When I have one of my hens goes broody, she behaves in a very annoying manner, fussy, dashing around, clucking the broody cluck under her breath, acting surly, and the others just find it, well, annoying, and will peck at her to get her away from them.

I've never seen any real aggression from the others beyond this response to annoying behavior.

By the way, I've been meaning to report that I saw Joycie turn on Flo and actually peck her back after Flo made a stab at her neck feathers! So, a docile hen who has always just "stood there and taken it" has suddenly decided not to take it any more!

But it may have something to do with Joycie being sick with avian leukemia, and just not feeling like putting up with Flo's @#$%.