I think I found a miracle cure for feather picking

[azygous]

I use the Gatoraid bottles, the small ones, and drill quarter-inch holes in them, and screw the lid on tight. one bottle lasts hours.

You're right about the senior girls monopolizing the bottles. That's why I try to have a bottle for every three or four chickens. But even if an older hen is hogging a bottle, the youngsters are totally engrossed in watching the seeds fall out and zipping in real fast to snatch them up before the older girl notices. It's a real party!

By the way, I just tried the holler therapy on another serious picker who has been in remission until now. I just sat on a stump and watched her, and as she went to peck her sister, whom she had cornered, I hollered, "NO!" I had to repeat it four times, but she then turned her focus onto something else. That makes three pickers now that it's worked on to get them to stop doing it.

 

[sunflour]

• @azygous

What kind of seeds to you place in the bottle. We buy HH treats but the dried fruit and nuts are too large to fall out. Wonder if dried mealy worms would work or may just break up?

 

[azygous]

Live meal worms work. But they're too precious to fill up a bottle with.

I use BOSS and scratch grain. I found the quarter-inch holes are just the right diameter to let the seeds fall out without them coming out too quickly.

 

[sunflour]

Live meal worms work. But they're too precious to fill up a bottle with.

I use BOSS and scratch grain. I found the quarter-inch holes are just the right diameter to let the seeds fall out without them coming out too quickly.

thanks.

 

[Micbike]

I really like these HenSavr aprons. Does a great job of protecting my girls backs. However, my picker has moved on to butt feathers. I guess I should've guessed that would happen. I have never seen who is doing the picking- but it has to be Betty White- my white leghorn. She is the only one NOT missing feathers. My space is very limited, so separating her from the rest is not really possible. I haven't tried the peepers. It seems the jury is still out on this one. These girls get plenty of protein- meal worms, occasional scrambled eggs, and other protein containing treats, and their feed is high quality. I've inspected for mites and lice. This has been going on for about 2 months now. Pretty frustrated. My poor girls' butts are bright red from the picking. Any other suggestions?

 

[Lacy Blues]

Their butts are likely bright red because of the sun being able to touch the skin. Notice on their faces where there are no feathers... red. The leghorn may well be at the top of the pecking order and no one would dare pull her feathers so she is not necessarily the one doing the picking. You need to spend some time watching them to find the culprit. If you have staggered perches that are too close, it may be happening there.

 

[azygous]

As long as their butts are bare and feather picking is suspected, I would try Rooster Booster Pick-no-mor. It might discourage further picking.

Sometimes a behavior needs only to be interrupted for a spell and the habit can be broken. But do check your perches. I had that going on once when I had perches that intersected at 90 degrees. I removed the lower perch and the butt feathers grew back.

 

[azygous]

Reporting on my serial feather picker Flo. She hasn't shown any inclination to pick feathers since the first week in October. It's too soon to declare her "cured", and she has had remissions before. But this is very encouraging.

The Sussex that were picking have seemed to have stopped, too. The "No!" therapy may be working.

 

[Cluckies]

I've been trying the "no" therapy on cluck-cluck when i'm out there, hopefully it works for me too. but I think she is good when i'm out there and goes back to it when i'm not. she is a sneaky one.

 

[Xtineart]

I've got one who feather picks and I've tried everything. the strangest thing is she only eats her own (moulted) feathers or picks from the other girls shoulders, just at the very top of their wings. I suspect it's more of a dominance behaviour as she is well fed and gets loads of mealworms, oatmilk porridge and probiotics so she cant be protein deficient. I've tried all the usual things, No therapy works while I'm with them but not when I'm out of her line of vision/earshot and she seems to actively like the taste of antipek spray and chilli (yes I did rub a tiny bit of chilli on one of my girlies baldy wing bit) It made her peck even more. The OP's suggested product seems to be an american only thing, is there something that we can get in the UK to help get her to quit?