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chickflick

feather plucking

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help

I have had my 3 chickens for nearly a week. Top chicken in the pecking order is now having her feathers plucked periodically by next chicken down in the pecking order??This really doesn't seem like pecking order disputes though.It just seems like " oh i want one of your feathers and i'll just take it!"almost boredom??

What can i do to stop this?

Top chicken doesn't seem very bothered by thisbut i dont want to end up with bad habits in second chicken and a bald top chicken.

THe only other change is that top chicken has started crouching when i go near her.Would that make the other one want to feather pluck her?

I haven't let them free range yet as we have been out visiting relatives yesterday/today but plan to let them out tomorrow.

thanks

ps i have just seen second chicken plucking feathers from bottom chicken too! oh no!

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You might find it settles down a bit once they're allowed out to play but you may just have a chicken who likes to pull feathers anyway. See how it goes once they're free ranging, as BarbaraJ says give them something to do in the run to distract them.

 

You could try a tea tree oil solution on the pecked girls to make the feathers taste nasty but if all else fails you may have to resort to a bumper bit or anti peck ring.

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Feather-plucking seems to be a bad habit that some chickens pick up - from what I've read it may be caused by stress rather than boredom. Maybe now your top hen is coming into lay, the change in circumstances is unsettling the others? Maybe the pecker is about to come into lay as well - mine have tended to get very antsy and PMT-ish in the run-up to laying! :lol:

 

Fingers crossed it will all settle down in a few more weeks, but if not, there are various things you can resort to if the feather-plucking starts to get unpleasant...

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If the distraction methods don't work you can try putting either a Bumpa bit or an anti pecking ring on the naughty one.

 

You can also try anti peck spray or Ukadex spray, which works well but smells terrible, and has had mixed receptions from Omleteers because of it.

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thanks-what is the difference between a bumper bit and aan ant peck ring please?

We got home early so have been able to let them out for an hour around the garden and i saw no feathers bieng plucked whilst out(early days i know) and there weren't too many in the run(we were out all afternoon) but they may have blown away in the wind.

Not sure the spray would work as she is pecking randomly all over them so i would have to spray the whole of two chickens!!

Heres hoping.

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