Mean hens pulling tail feathers and backs raw.

[ChickinProblems]

Hello! I have 11 chickens all raised together that are about 1.5 yo. For about five months I’ve been noticing someone is a severe bully. Four chickens are completely raw and missing tail feather. One was picked on so bad that I separated her until her feathers grew back. Just put her back in the coupe today and within an hour her whole tail feathers were ripped out. I watch them for hours and never witness who is doing it. The injured hem is now in isolation with her sister who is plucked raw on her back as well. I have no rooster. They have lots of room , food , scratch and water. I’m out of ideas. Any clue on who to tell who the bully is so I can remove her ?

 

[LaFleche]

Usually the only chicken with undamaged plumage is the guilty one.

Sometimes this starts due to a lack of minerals, vitamins or proteins/amino acids. Might also occur when the run is boring and too small.

 

[aart]

Thank for all the replies and ideas. It took about three weeks for her tail feathers to grow back last time so hopefully it’ll be fast this time so I can put them back. What other feed aside from Purina laying pellets? I keep the food open all the time but I do keep it inside the coupe and will lay scratch in the run every couple days. We can’t free range since we have huge hawks.

If a feather is fully plucked out, it will regrow pretty fast...if it is broekn off it wil not regrow until molt.

I like Purina Flock Raiser...with oyster shells in a separate feeder for the active layers.

 

[aart]

Better remove her now or the others will never be able to get better,

Ditto Dat!

Feathers are unlikely to grow back until a molt.
Feed a higher protein(18-20%) feed than layer feed.

 

[aart]

but I got the feathers fixer to try to help them

"Feather Fixer' is a marketing ploy, long story....
.....but it's nothing but an 18% protein, 3-4% calcium layer feed.

 

[LaFleche]

Thank you. I will remove my largest hen with no feather damage once these gals heal up and see if that helps.

Better remove her now or the others will never be able to get better, and this might even lead to cannibalism.

Try feeding some real butter twice a week,, this often helps when a nutrient deficiency is the cause.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Ditto Dat!

Feathers are unlikely to grow back until a molt.
Feed a higher protein(18-20%) feed than layer feed.

That and cut out the scratch. Most layer is 16% protein and about the minimum needed to produce eggs. It is also intended to be the sole ration. Adding scratch can dramatically reduce the total protein intake.

The pictures look like the beginning of cannibalism. I've had that in younger birds when I cut out the fishmeal I was adding to their organic grower. In doing so, the protein dropped from 20% to 16%. They were missing the amino acids and after eating feathers, they started eating meat in front of the tail. At first I thought I had rats till I caught them in the act.

BOSS is too high in fiber. Digesting that fiber will use up the extra protein afforded by the seed so won't really satisfy the protein requirement.

 

[wat_da_cluck]

Just a note on Hawks - I have a family of red tail hawks in a tree just off my property. They love the baby robins and voles in my back field and are always around. After my chickens were dive bombed a couple times at 8 weeks the hawks are no longer a problem. My chickens stay in the bushes and low bushy trees. When they want to move along they peak their heads out looking for the hawks, and if they don’t see them the sprint through the grass to the next bush/tree. When the hawks do show up they lay under the low bushes and take a nap. It’s fascinating to watch - but turns out the survival instinct is strong. I assume one day they might be a snack - but in the summer there are just so many tasty treats the hawks are leaving my flock alone.
The chickens also hide from airplanes.....

 

[aart]

Okay well I pulled out my prettiest hen ... fingers crossed. Added oyster shells , corn , scratch , pellets and sunflower seeds. Fingers crossed some feathers come back and the pulling out feathers stop !

Cut out the extras.

 

[ChickinProblems]