Pecking- what to use?

[KC n KY]

I have a flock of one Wyandotte roo, two Wyandotte hens, four Amberlinks, four red stars, two black austrolorps, and two mutts. So here's the story. About one month ago, I noticed the hens were losing feathers. At the same time a hen(BLRW) went broody. While observing the broody hen, I noticed a small, white bug crawling on her. Soooo,,, we had a Sevin Dust Party in the coop a couple weeks ago. Pretty sure the lice/mites are gone. Now, the hens seem to be pecking each others feathers out. The broody (still in broody box, long story) is the only one with substantial feather regrowth. Becasue of this, I have decided to put something on the chickens' backs. My question is what? Blu kote? Petroleum Jelly? Black Salve? Any positive/ negative comments about any of these products or any suggestions for alternative products would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[dawg53]

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Did you have a second Sevin Dust Party 10-14 days after the first party? Did your first party include "in house," meaning to include nests, roosts etc....? Did you redust the Party House again 10-14 days later? The reason you redust is to kill any lice or mites that hatched from eggs since the first dusting...breaking their lifecycle. If you did redust everything, it could be that they need extra protein. You can feed them scrambled eggs for a few days to boost protein or provide them gamebird feed which is about 22% protein. Feed them the gamebird feed til they stop the feather picking. Additionally, overcrowding can cause feather picking/pecking. Just make sure they have plenty of room when they go in for the evening.

 

[KC n KY]

Thanx for the quick reply. When we dusted them the first time, we cleaned out EVERYTHING, but we havent dusted again, so we'll dust them again. They have plenty of room, but I usually feed them a half/half mix of dumor layer and cracked corn, so an additional protein supplement may be needed? Could cat food provide the additional protein needed?

 

[dawg53]

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I wouldnt add the cracked corn to their feed, save that as a treat only. Feed them the layer feed only, it is about 16% protein, cracked corn has much less protein content. For now, just go with their layer feed. Feather regrowth wont happen onernight, as a matter of fact, they may or may not grow back til after she molts...but extra protein does help with feather growth. Catfood can contain too much salt and I dont recommend feeding it anymore to chickens. Is there any feather picking going on?

 

[KC n KY]

I myself have never fed cat food to a chicken, just heard that on E-How. I believe there is feather picking going on, as every single hen( other than the broody) still has a naked back.

 

[dawg53]

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If there are 1 or 2 bully's doing the feather picking, it could be a pecking order issue. If you find out which ones are doing it, you can seperate them away from the others in crates or cages for about 3-4 days, then reintroduce them back into your flock...this will knock the bully's down the pecking order a notch or two and you shouldnt have anymore problems with them.
You can put Vick's Vap O Rub on their backs...it wont harm them nor the feather picker. There wont be anymore feather picking lol. I wouldnt put it on them til after you redusted them though. If it's a lack of protein, scrambled egg or gamebird feed is what you need to feed them.