Should I get rid of hen that won't stop picking feathers?

[InsaneBreeder]

I have a BR who has always been kind of odd and has a tendency to bite people, and in the past few months she has begun pulling the neck, back, and vent feathers out of all the other hens her age. I have given her catfood (which she wouldn't eat), she and the others free-range 1-3 hours per day, the coop is not too small, and I provide weeds and kitchen scraps for them to prevent boredom. Is there anything I haven't thought of? If I completely isolated her for a time, and then reintroduced her, would she be lower on the pecking order, and less likely to pick at their feathers? The egg she lays everyday is certainly valuable to me, but I hate seeing half the flock practically bald and hearing their squawks whenever she does it. Should I get rid of her?

 

[chuckzoo]

Are you providing oyster shell for calcuim?

 

[NeeleysAVLChicks]

If they are getting all the necessary things, I would agree with your idea of separating her for a few days to knock her down on the totem pole. You might also try some boredom fighting tricks, hanging a cabbage, put a bunch of hay out in the run for lots of fun scratching, but those are only temporary solutions. Wish I could be more help!

 

[chicmom]

Sometimes you just have a bully. And that hen might never change, but I would say it's definitely worth a try to isolate her for at least a week, then re-introduce her to the flock. Honestly, it may only be a temporary fix....she will probably get back to her old habits once she is used to everybody again.

One thing you could try is a thing called "Pinless Peepers". They're these little blinders......they sort of hook into the nostrils of the chick. They don't hurt a bit and they resemble goofy sunglasses, to be honest. I don't think they're very expensive. Anyhow, google "Pinless Peepers and you will find them easily. A friend of mine used them on a rooster that was a pecker/feather puller, and it worked wonders.

Good luck to you. I personally just sell the bullies. (For the good of the flock, ya know?)

Sharon

 

[InsaneBreeder]

Quote:
Yes.

 

[InsaneBreeder]

Okay then, I'll try isolating her for a few days, but if that doesn't work, I'll probably get rid of her. Thanks for your opinions

 

[Hypnotist_Collectr]

Good luck. I have a "mean hen" who happens to lay the biggest eggs, and is the prettiest. She was in isolation for 2 weeks, because she got sick and they were all picking on her. When she went back in it was a battle royale... blood and everything... so, we had to put her in a brooder in the run, so they could see her for a week, and then they got so used to her, they didnt fight when we brought her out.
Though, I have noticed in the past week, 3 of my 6 chickens are plucked nearly naked around the neck and butt area... and she has NO feathers pulled... SO, I am thinking she went from victim to bully. Drives me crazy. I have added calcium, protein, etc to their food, and NEVER see them fight. I have NO idea when it is happening, unless it is happening at night during lock down. (We have an open spot in the run that we need to get fixed that the neighbor cat likes to sneak into at night, so.. yeah...

 

[ve]

Buy her pin-less Peepers from eggcartons.com and give more sunflower seeds

 

[ve]

Buy her pin-less Peepers from eggcartons.com and give more sunflower seeds

 

[SkyStorm]

Try everything you can before you get rid of her. If nothing works then she might be stressing out your other hens a lot and that's not good.