Unknown reason for hens constant feather pecking

[Pork Pie]

Good cuz I'm not wasting it. hopefully I'll get lucky like others and my bird won't try and eat each other. Saddles never thought of that mostly because I thought it was for breeding females.

Agreed on the use of saddles, but I guess anything is worth a try. Personally I'd go for the easy fixes first, and it's likely that it will need a suite of interventions, not just one and if it's become habitual, you've got your work cut out

 

[TinyBirds]

The saddles are intended for breeding females yes, but I have used them for the feather pecking problem which happened one winter when the birds were kept cramped for a week during a cold spell. Thet got the bad habit that week any wouldn't stop. Most were bleeding and raw on back near tail (some with no tail by then), so i tried the aprons on all of them (ones that go back to cover the tail a bit too) and it worked! With any blood spots i sprayed the silver spray on them too, something the vet gave us for animal wounds.

 

[Pork Pie]

The saddles are intended for breeding females yes, but I have used them for the feather pecking problem which happened one winter when the birds were kept cramped for a week during a cold spell. Thet got the bad habit that week any wouldn't stop. Most were bleeding and raw on back near tail (some with no tail by then), so i tried the aprons on all of them (ones that go back to cover the tail a bit too) and it worked! With any blood spots i sprayed the silver spray on them too, something the vet gave us for animal wounds.

Thanks for sharing - a great example of thinking outta the box

 

[Mysimplewyominglife]

Agreed on the use of saddles, but I guess anything is worth a try. Personally I'd go for the easy fixes first, and it's likely that it will need a suite of interventions, not just one and if it's become habitual, you've got your work cut out

If I can't break the one hen of feather pecking then at best she will be rehomed at worst put down but rather break her of it or rehome as she is a great layer but a bit of a jerk specially in seeing my neighbour just informed me that the problem hen just went after one of the other girls even tho they were on the other side of the yard from miss jerk.

 

[Pork Pie]

If I can't break the one hen of feather pecking then at best she will be rehomed at worst put down but rather break her of it or rehome as she is a great layer but a bit of a jerk specially in seeing my neighbour just informed me that the problem hen just went after one of the other girls even tho they were on the other side of the yard from miss jerk.

Sounds like a good plan

 

[Mysimplewyominglife]

Sounds like a good plan

Hard the idea of killing or rehoming tho as this hen ( Mrs McLintock name fits her) lays large eggs had a few double yolkers to boot dang bird.

 

[Pork Pie]

Hard the idea of killing or rehoming tho as this hen ( Mrs McLintock name fits her) lays large eggs had a few double yolkers to boot dang bird.

Always seems to be the case. I had a great layer that was the noisiest bird known to mankind - she got the chop

 

[Mysimplewyominglife]

Always seems to be the case. I had a great layer that was the noisiest bird known to mankind - she got the chop

Better to have noise then a a feather pecker. Kinda like their noises specially them having to tell the world they laid the best egg ever lol

 

[aart]

Also I live in the UK now thought I stated it must not have. There are loads of helpful items that are hard to find in the UK like pinless peepers and the anti crow collar. The list goes on I'm sure.

Also I read that stress can cause hens to have small eggs, lay less often and stop laying altogether. So I guess how do know if it's diet, stress or just a jerk of a bird as it's just the one who is a issue and she ain't even in the head bird she is like the one of the last 3 in the peck order.

Change their feed to a good balanced chicken ration, clean water and nothing else for a couple weeks...worked for your granny, as you stated below.
The next thing is crowding stress. Do they free range all the time?
If not, how big is their coop and run(in meters by meters) and how many birds total?

My great grandmother was raised with giving chicken scraps from the house as a child mind you this woman was born round 1920 give or take and living on a farm. She saw cannibalism and feather pecking even when loads of food was given. When she grew older had her own flock she feed scraps and found they pecked and tried to eat each other as she put it. When she was able to buy already made food that issue stopped. It's not about how a person was raised its about what worked for them and what they learned. Like I said lots say it worked for them others say they had issues.

Because the feed had balanced nutrition, the scraps did not.

 

[Mysimplewyominglife]

Change their feed to a good balanced chicken ration, clean water and nothing else for a couple weeks...worked for your granny, as you stated below.
The next thing is crowding stress. Do they free range all the time?
If not, how big is their coop and run(in meters by meters) and how many birds total?

Because the feed had balanced nutrition, the scraps did not.

My current run is 8'x4' the coop is 4'x4' these are temporary til their 18'x16' run and 10'x6' coop is up which should be in the next 2 weeks. They are not kept in the run for more then 2hrs a day and that is 15-30mins 3-4 times a day max for the dog to go outside til the fenced in are for the dog is put up round the same time the permanent coop and run will be done.

They are also on a balanced layers feed and a 40 litre drinker is emptied and filled each morning so the water is fresh and clean. If they were not on a balanced diet I would have thought them dead by now or at lest featherless.