New tail feathers

[BKWILDER]

I have 1 month old ISA browns and Saffire Gems. problem I'm having is the ISA Browns are getting their new tail feathers in and either getting picked at by the other chicks or they pick on their own tail feathers causing bare tails and some are bloody. Sprayed the tails with Blu Kote to discourage any more bad behavior. Any suggestions or any one else with this problem. My RIR from last year had same issues a few never did get nice tail feathers.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

The only time I have seen pecking is when I didn't get my chicks moved to a bigger area in time. My guess is your chicks are restless and bored. Give them lots of room to move, and get them outside on warmer days if possible before the pecking becomes a habit.

 

[faylinnc]

I agree. They might just be restless and bored. Since they're bigger now considering they're a month old, you should probably switch to a bit of a bigger space for them if you haven't already. If the behavior doesn't stop, you should maybe give them a bit more space from each other, maybe even letting them roam around outside during the day time if you're able to keep an eye on them. Just a suggestion from my personal experiences.

 

[aart]

Have had this problem, was crowding.
Blukote only made the bird try to preen it off and reopen the wound, or break it's own pin feathers.
Tip: if a broken pin feather will not stop bleeding, you need to pluck the feather out.
I used a small pair of hemostats, bleeding stopped immediately and a new feather emerged soon after.