Pecking help please....

[Ardnamara]

Hi there! Looking for help please...
I had a small group of 5 hens and several of them had bald areas of feathers that had been pulled out, mainly bottoms, small areas on wings and base of the tail. I originally thought they had mites as I had never seen them peck each other and so tried for a couple of months with mite sprays/cleaners and eventually bought a new coop. But with little improvement
Then added another 4 hens ( 2 young ones, 2 older) and one of the older ones has now got bald patches too. I initially thought it was pecking order behaviour but actually saw one of the original ones calmly pulling out a feather of another original one and eating it! So obviously not new behaviour...
I've tried isolating a couple of the more dominant hens, individually for a couple of days. I've tried 2 different "antipecking" sprays and gentian violet spray. Also tried smearing mustard on the bald bits...all to no effect. To be fair they don't seem bothered but look really mangey and unloved. Still laying/eating/drinking. No blood but large patches red skin especially round the neck/ bottom. Any other suggestions? My husband thinks I'm overthinking things but I feel like a bad mummy with toddlers that are biting other children....
thankyou

 

[nuthatched]

Hello there,
It's often a sign of cramped quarters or inadequate diet.
How big is their coop? What is their diet?

 

[CCsGarden]

Hi there! Looking for help please...
I had a small group of 5 hens and several of them had bald areas of feathers that had been pulled out, mainly bottoms, small areas on wings and base of the tail. I originally thought they had mites as I had never seen them peck each other and so tried for a couple of months with mite sprays/cleaners and eventually bought a new coop. But with little improvement
Then added another 4 hens ( 2 young ones, 2 older) and one of the older ones has now got bald patches too. I initially thought it was pecking order behaviour but actually saw one of the original ones calmly pulling out a feather of another original one and eating it! So obviously not new behaviour...
I've tried isolating a couple of the more dominant hens, individually for a couple of days. I've tried 2 different "antipecking" sprays and gentian violet spray. Also tried smearing mustard on the bald bits...all to no effect. To be fair they don't seem bothered but look really mangey and unloved. Still laying/eating/drinking. No blood but large patches red skin especially round the neck/ bottom. Any other suggestions? My husband thinks I'm overthinking things but I feel like a bad mummy with toddlers that are biting other children....
thankyou

do you check for mites/lice?
How big is there coop/run?
Put some vaseline or Salve on the patches of skin.
Can you post some pictures of your hens here?

 

[Ardnamara]

Hello there,
It's often a sign of cramped quarters or inadequate diet.
How big is their coop? What is their diet?

Their coop is for 8-10 hens with 2 roosting bars and 4 nesting boxes.
I feed them layer pellets and cast grain every afternoon onto the ground in a couple of areas for scratching. They free range from 7am til dusk (9pm ish), their free range area is grass, with some bare soil areas they use for rolling in.

 

[Ardnamara]

do you check for mites/lice?
How big is there coop/run?
Put some vaseline or Salve on the patches of skin.
Can you post some pictures of your hens here?

Their new coop is plastic and I put loads of mire powder on when I moved them in. Clean their coop weekly and sprinkle with more powder in the nesting boxes. Never seen any mites or lice, and have handled them frequently ( to apply sprays/potions!) over the last few weeks. Also, not all of them are affected, 4 out if the 9 are absolutely fine. I'm very frustrated!!

 

[nuthatched]

Their coop is for 8-10 hens with 2 roosting bars and 4 nesting boxes.
I feed them layer pellets and cast grain every afternoon onto the ground in a couple of areas for scratching. They free range from 7am til dusk (9pm ish), their free range area is grass, with some bare soil areas they use for rolling in.

How big is it, in dimensions?
And what is the protein on their feed? Cut out the grains for now.
What is the mite powder?

 

[Saveria]

Their coop is for 8-10 hens

Actual dimensions would help. Most coops you can buy way underestimate the actual space needs of chickens.

 

[Ardnamara]

How big is it, in dimensions?
And what is the protein on their feed? Cut out the grains for now.
What is the mite powder?

 

[Ardnamara]

View attachment 3626488View attachment 3626491View attachment 3626490

Thinking I might be underestimating the coop size they need.....

 

[Ardnamara]

Actual dimensions would help. Most coops you can buy way underestimate the actual space needs of chickens.

Thinking that might be the case.....