Tail Feathers

[ChickenPat]

Hi, we had a possum wiggle his way though the fence and had a field day with one of my chickens but not before pulling all of one of the survivors tail feathers out! She is very funny to watch walking around with no tail feathers, kinda looks like she is half there!

Well, my question is, will they grow back?

 

[mmajw]

Yes in time.

Hope you have a stronger fence up.

 

[ChickenPat]

Oh Yes! that happened 2 months ago and hubby gunned down the varmit while he was in the act! The opening which was were 2 fences were wired together, has been rewired.
Thanks

 

[FLchook]

Glad you got him! Hope you have no more incidence!!!! Ive had more then my share this spring,

But we wont go there....

Yes, your girls tail will grow back. My girl lost half of her to a similar incident, the missing half is almost back tofull length. She looked rather lopsided with out it hehe

 

[estpr13]

Two weeks ago two of my hens ran across the street at a dead run in the rain. They had been shut up in the back yard, so I looked around the corner of my house and found a raccoon with two of my BOs and a mouth full of feathers and feathers all around.

I ran after him and he just looked up at me because he figured he was safe on the other side of a fence. But when I lifted the fence he dropped the hen he had and ran off with me in pursuit. He got away but I set a catch-em-alive trap.
I went back to my hens who were still laying in the mud and started talking to them telling them how sorry I was for not being there sooner so that they would still be alive, and to my supprise both got up.

One came to me and one ran off. The one being chewed on I picked up to inspect. She was missing a one and a half inch by one half inch patch of feathers along her back, but was otherwise unharmed. Tramatized, but no broken skin.
The other hen I found three doors down huddled in a corner of a porch steps. She had a one inch gash down the side of her comb where the coon had tried to crush her scull but missed. She was definately tramatized. I held her, cleaned her up and talked to her for a while as she was shaking badly.
My hen with the missing feathers is okay and the feathers will grow back but they are a reminder for me to take extra measures to protect my flock.
I buy a trappers license so I can leagally kill the varmits during trapping season. Oh, ...I live a block away from UK campus.