Please help w/pecking, plucking, feather eating. Lotsa info & pics!

[rhondapiper]

Warning: A few picks below of ugly picking.

I'm desperate for help with my chickens. They're pulling out each others feathers, pecking each other's tails and vents, and clipping off and eating feathers too. There are no feathers in the coop and run, they are eating them. I thought I was prepared for chickenkeeping when I got them, spent months reading this board, various blogs, and bought books and read them too. But I'm failing miserably.

Bear with me as I give you every possible detail so you can help.

I've read a lot of advice on here about plucking, picking, and cannibalism. So far I've tried the following:
Spraying them with bitter tasting stuff (bitter spray like hot pick).
Spraying them with bluekote.
Feeding more high protein food (mixed flock raiser with layena).
Adding more interest to the run by building a tunnel that can be run through or perched on, old logs to peck at, a high perch to fly up to and look around, flock blocks, and scratch every morning.

The facts:
I have seven chickens, two buff orpingtons, two black australorps, two silver wyandottes, and one gold laced wyandotte. All are girls, from the same hatch date, hatched last year in May. Problems started to be evident not long after they got their big-girl feathers.

They cannot free-range because I live in the woods with foxes and raccoons on my property 24-7. I've also got eagles, hawks, possums, stray dogs, and many stray cats. Disposing of predators is useless because I am right against a massive park that provides plenty of habitat and people drop off a lot of unwanted pets out here.

We built a 6X6 coop with a door with a window and window in front and a window in back. Ventilation is provided in summer via the windows and eaves, in winter by the eaves only. The run is secure enough that the popdoor stays open because the chickens wake before I do and I worried that they were pecking each other in the coop waiting to be let out. It has two nesting boxes, one on top of the other, and only one perch the length of one side that everyone shares. Both nesting boxes get used about equally. Food and water is provided inside the coop.

The run is attached and is 10X14 (I think). It is chain link with hardware cloth around the bottom three feet, buried underneath the floor, and strung across the top. The floor is hardware cloth covered with a few inches of dirt, followed by a few more inches of sand. There is no vegetation, and we are having some issues with drainage that we hope to fix this spring/summer. In the coop, there are a few short logs that get pecked and climbed on, a tunnel for running through and climbing on, and a perch that hangs from the top. I think the run is kind of depressing becuase of the sandy poopy floor, and we are hoping to redesign and expand it this summer, but everything I read said I was providing enough square footage per chicken, and we added the levels and hiding spots so that they could be outside together but not near each other if they wanted.

They are fed with Purina Layena or Blue Seal mash with grit mixed in, fed from one hanging feeder in the coop. Scraps are tossed in the run in the morning when available, and scratch is tossed in in the morning as well. Water is available in the coop via one waterer. I tried an automatic waterer with disastrous results.

They don't seem to fight. We watch and watch trying to see this pecking taking place, and the rare times you see a peck, it's almost casual, like a habit. Peck the ground, look around, peck the chicken next to you, peck the ground.. Observing the chickens, I don't see much squabbling taking place, but I've not been watching as much as I should due to winter weather.

I removed one chicken (the GLW who got picked on first) who was getting scabby and bald and had NO tail feathers left at all to a holding pen in the garage, and she got fluffy and glossy right away, so she wasn't pecking herself. She's still out there, I'm going to return her and take the next worse looking one to the 'hospital' pen, but that's no permanent solution, especially when the garage heats up this summer.

What's even weirder is the feather eating. My one formerly glorious black australorp looks like a 2 year old went after her with scissors. Her feathers are chopped off and apparently eaten. Wing feathers have had all the feathery bits eaten off and just the quills are visible in places. The buffs are starting to get the same treatment too, with their saddle feathers being chewed off about midway in, and the long tail feathers underneath being pulled out.

Every single bird has damage, but they didn't all get problems at once. First the GLW, then one SLW, then one BA, then the rest followed rapidly.

I really, really want happy, healthy animals, and I'm failing utterly at having chickens. It breaks my heart that they are not fat, glossy, show-worthy birds.

I'm here for help, please help. Don't feel like you need to worry about offending me, or that I'll get defensive if you tell me I'm doing everything wrong. I'm worried for these chickens, and I want to fix this!

Thanks in advance, and special thanks if you got through all these words!!

Pictures of the girls:
The worst picked on right now:

The three with the most chopped off feathers, the BA on the left looks terrible:

Another shot of the scissored-off looking feathers, just starting on the BO's saddles:

Picked at tails and vents:

 

[underground chickenman]

First of all, they don't look that bad in the pictures you provided. I have one or two that have had completely bald bottoms a time or two in the past. Secondly, you have to accept some amount of pecking among chickens. That's what they do. They peck to establish a hierarchy among themselves, or "pecking order."

Now, for what you can do about it. You mentioned increasing their protein, but you didn't say how. In fact, it appears you are feeding a layer ration with some scratch and table scraps thrown in. For now, I would stop the scratch and scraps, unless the scraps are high in protein, liked chopped up eggs, cooked beans or even lean unseasoned meat. Scratch does not have a lot of protein and it will dilute the protein in your layer ration.

Which brings me to the next point, try switching to a starter ration, which will have a higher protein content, but if you do, you must also give layers a calcium supplement, such as oyster shell. This must be available free choice.

Instead of scratch, if you want to give them something to scratch for, give them whole black oil sunflower seeds. They have a decent protein content. Toss a few hands full in the run after they have eaten their feed in the morning. That way they don't fill up on it first. Then they will scratch for it during the day.

You can also hang a head of cabbage in the run and they will peck at that on the end of a string. Cabbage doesn't have a lot of calories, so it won't dilute the protein intake as much as scratch will.

Other than adequate room, appropriate temperature, good nutrition and something to entertain them. there's not much else you can do. Some people report success with pine tar. You can try that. If you have one that is really abusive, you may need to re-home that one.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

UGCM

 

[fldiver97]

I agree with the OP....Also, maybe add some other green stuff in the run. Mine love greens, radish ans carrot tops, kale, spinach, lettuce, weeds.....When I had 2 in quarantine that could not run around in the yard I put clumps of grass/weeds/dirt in for them. I just dug a bit up, I needed to clear an area for a raised bed anyway and tossed it in. They went nuts and it keeps them busy. After all the worms and bugs were picked out, the green stuff was eaten....they used the dirt for nice dustbaths. Also....did you have to confine them more during winter???? Maybe that caused some boredom/less space issue?? Once they get into it it's a habit. I would also take any chicken that has bloody spots/sores and contain them somehow so that wounds can heal. Sounds like you are working on this. Even if you have jst some chickenwire to divide some are in coop/run. Hope you can get some other idea!! Good luck!

 

[Hambone]

The only thing that will stop the pecking is free ranging. In my opinion I would rather have one of my birds die to a preditor than to canabalism that derived from the pecking. The peckings is because they never leave the coop and run. The grass is gone and they are bored. Yours arnt bad yet but they will get worse. Try free ranging them for a week. I bet you the pecking stops all most completly. They will return to their home before dark every night. Dont worry about them. Let them be chickens.

 

[drumstick diva]

Have you checked them for lice/mites??

 

[rhondapiper]

Thanks for the help so far.

underground chickenman: Thanks! I hadn't thought about the scraps (mainly fruits and veggies) and scratch ruining my efforts at raising the protein. I was feeding the scratch and treats to try to occupy them. I had tried raising the protein by mixing their layer feed with 'flock raiser' by purina, but was likely sabotaging my own efforts by feeding the scraps.

fldiver97: Thank you as well. I'm going to do all I can to add more interest to the run (without messing up their diet.)

Hambone: Thanks for your perspective. I agree with you and think they'd be fine if they free-ranged. I would love to free range, but with foxes and raccoons literally relaxing in my backyard, I think I'd lose all my chickens in less than a week- I only have 7. I am considering some sort of tractor that I could move them around the yard in though, so they have fresh grass to ruin.

If it comes to it, I'll give them away to someone who can free-range.

drumstick diva- Thanks! Not recently, but there definitely aren't any on the one I'm keeping separately. I'll check again though.

 

[farmgirl77]

I agree with Hambone. Let them free range, even for a couple of hours a day. It really seems to make a difference.

 

[Dora'smom]

My birds look worse than yours do, but they are getting better. The situation was similar, enough space, things to occupy themselves with, good layer rations, etc.
What I did, was up the protein intake by mixing in an increased protein game bird ration, give scrambled eggs as treats, give black oil sunflower seeds as treats. They continued to peck, so I bought a saddle for the most pecked, and then invested in pinless peepers. That is what made the difference for us. They are readily available online, and are applied very easily. They don't hurt the bird, and just prevent them from seeing directly forward, where they would normally pick. One of my RIRs has regrown almost all of her back feathers, and my little Dora, the bottom of the pecking order EE, is now out in the run all the time. They still make threatening swipes at each other on occasion, but they can't connect anymore. It has made a world of difference to our birds.

 

[ChickenToes]

I think the biggest reasons why birds peck each other, besides lice/mites, is boredom and not having enough room to run around. They get bored and start pecking each other.

So...a larger run would help, and I agree with the others about treats, etc.

By the way, your birds look fine. I know someone who has about 40 chickens in a space big enough for maybe 20. One was pecked almost bald, one of the rooster's legs was pecked completely bare...it's disgusting.

 

[rhondapiper]

Thanks for the additional tips, everyone. I'm going to just go for it and try the peepers.

My new immediate plans:

Cut out scratch and scraps, feed a higher protein feed, making sure they still get enough calcium, and give better treats, like sunflower seeds. Really pay attention to the makeup of their complete diet.

Buy and try peepers. (Already placed the order!)

Continue enriching the run, beginning immediately by providing more stuff to dig around in.