I think I found a miracle cure for feather picking

[Lacy Blues]

I haven't witnessed my little girl trying to pluck any feathers either. I'm really hoping the habit is broken. I haven't replaced that plastic bit yet as I've been trying to get my barn re-roofed before the winter storms actually hit. I need to get a bit filed smooth and trim her beak and replace the plastic one. I think we're at 3 weeks now. 5 more to go!

 

[Gldnrose]

That is great! My cluck-cluck is doing well still with the peepers, she grabs a butt feather once in a while, but not near as much. I still keep goose in the "hospital" during the day. her feathers are coming in very nicely.

Hope cluck-cluck continues to do well and goose's feathers continue to come back!

Ah! The sweet, sweet aroma of success! Let's hope it lasts!

Cindy and her sisters are looking lovely, to say the least! Isn't it enjoyable to look at chickens with feathers?

And here in the home front, Flo is still behaving herself! Can you believe it? I haven't even had to holler at her in the last couple weeks. Maybe this hollering business has some merit. I'm enjoying looking at Joycie with a full neck full of feathers!

It is so nice to see the girls with all their feathers, lol. Now when I look out the window it takes a minute to figure out who is who because they have feathers again. Except Bob, she still hasn't started to molt yet. I really think they wont come back until she does because it seems that's how it worked for the others. I sure wish she would get started soon as its getting pretty cold and I don't do any heat in the coop. I'm gonna start getting worried. ugghh

I'm so glad for Flo. Hooray!!!! I'm sure Joycie is pretty happy to have her feathers too )

I haven't witnessed my little girl trying to pluck any feathers either. I'm really hoping the habit is broken. I haven't replaced that plastic bit yet as I've been trying to get my barn re-roofed before the winter storms actually hit. I need to get a bit filed smooth and trim her beak and replace the plastic one. I think we're at 3 weeks now. 5 more to go!

Fingers crossed your girl will continue her good behavior!

 

[azygous]

Quick update: Flo is still in remission from feather-picking! And Joycie's neck still has all feathers intact.

I wish some more of you would try this "hollering therapy" and see if it really works. It could just be Flo, now being around five years old, is plumb worn out from being a life-long feather-picker and has coincidentally decided not to continue her career.

But then again, it would make some sense that Flo would respond to being hollered at because of the bond she has with me. A hen who has always been able to make her needs known to me and have me respond to them would probably be pretty tuned in to my feelings for her. I don't even know if this would work with any of my other chickens should I see a new picker gearing up her beak.

I hesitate to even wish for such a thing, but it would be interesting to try this therapy out on another chicken in my flock.

 

[Lacy Blues]

I have too many chickens to try the hollering method. Plus, I cannot be out there all day watching them. When I'm out there, I'm usually doing something else and it was a complete fluke that I caught this young little missy misbehaving.

She's still behaving now.

 

[azygous]

I agree, this therapy is very impractical to do specifically since most of us have plenty of other things to do, but I just got a chance to try it out on one of my other chickens, and it worked!

I was in the run checking on the water and fermented feed to make sure it wasn't freezing since we're getting a deep freeze this week. Maude is one of my newer flock members, around sixteen months old. I heard the tell-tale squawking that means someone is getting feather-pecked. Remember that toothpick holder where a wood pecker is on a swivel over the well of toothpicks and if you want a toothpick you push the bird's head down and it snatches a toothpick for you? That's what Maude was doing to the back of her sister.

I hollered "no!" real loud and sharp. She stopped. When she resumed, as I figured she would, I hollered again. She stopped! She did it a couple more times, and stopped each time I hollered. Then she wandered off to do something else.

As with Flo, this effect lasts for awhile. I don't know how long, but it is hopefully reprogramming something in the feather-picker's brain each time she gets hollered at when she engages in this behavior. In Flo's case, after several weeks of purely sporadic hollering associated with the picking behavior has apparently resulted in stopping the behavior. I can only assume it's stopped because her victim Joycie has all her neck and saddle feathers.

So, you don't need to be out in the run for hours at a time to perform this therapy. Just be alert to any bad behavior when you are out there with the flock, and holler at the top of your lungs, screw the neighbors, when you see it happening. Keep watch on the perpetrator, hollering each time she does it over the time you're in the run doing chores. See if your picker responds as mine have.

I'll be darned if this just might be the miracle cure!

 

[Cluckies]

I had to remove cluck-clucks peepers, we had rain a couple weeks ago and she got mud/clay packed in her nostrils and it dried like cement, she couldn't breath. I took the peepers out to clean but she started bleeding out one of her nostrils, it must have scratched her when I took them off (she whipped her head back). so I've got to wait for that to heal. She went back to picking feathers pretty quick. I clean their coop and run everyday, I do yell at her, it stops her for a bit, then she is back at it. So now she is in prison during the day once again while i'm at work until her nose heals and I can put the peepers back on I was hoping that with wearing the peepers for 4-5 weeks she would forget her picking habit. nope. It is depressing. I'll continue to yell when i'm out there, but I think she goes to town during the day when i'm gone, hence the jail. I'll keep you all updated as we go. bad thing is now it is winter and they cannot free range so more bored chickens to deal with.

 

[Lacy Blues]

Bored chickens?

I understand. You could hang up a head of cabbage or put grain in a water bottle with a couple small holes drilled in it. They'll peck at it and grain will fall out the holes. Make the holes a little bit small, otherwise, they will eat up all the grain in a few minutes and then be bored again.

 

[Cluckies]

Thanks, I have the vegetable balls http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/precision-pet-products-chicken-treat-ball, 3 of them. and also 2 of the chicken toy balls that they can kick around and grain comes out.
http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/manna-proreg;-chicken-toy not sure what else I can do. The dude at the place where I bought them says he will have straw bales with alfalfa that chickens like to dig through and eat the alfalfa, but he doesn't have it yet. when he gets some in, i'll nab some up.

 

[azygous]

When you yell at cluck-cluck, are you doing it with a single word like "No!" and yelling it real loud and sharp? Are you watching her after you holler the word, and hollering again the second she starts in again? Follow-through is real important, even if you aren't able to do it each and every time she picks. And it should be a single, short word, and the same one every time.

I do it for as long as it takes for my culprit to turn her focus onto something else. If you have to get close to her in order for you to get her attention when you holler, do it. Don't be shy about really making a lot of noise, no matter what the neighbors think.

 

[sunflour]

Thanks, I have the vegetable balls http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/precision-pet-products-chicken-treat-ball, 3 of them. and also 2 of the chicken toy balls that they can kick around and grain comes out.
http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/manna-proreg;-chicken-toy not sure what else I can do. The dude at the place where I bought them says he will have straw bales with alfalfa that chickens like to dig through and eat the alfalfa, but he doesn't have it yet. when he gets some in, i'll nab some up.

I have both of those, and my hens love them. But even just 6 hens wipe out the greens I place int the wire thing….they ring the bell when it's empty and I walk by the coop/run..

So funny, they are trying to train me.

We use the plastic yellow balls and the top 2 girls monopolize it…..as the ball ages, the elastic gets loose and they have learned to pry it open and get all the goodies at once….Such smarties.

Thinking about making one out of a clear plastic bottle….bet they protest to have to kick it around and can't unscrew the lid….or maybe they will learn how as well..