4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[drakesmith]

Is there a way of stopping incessant feather pulling? I have 5 ladies, 3 of which are White Star and who have made a hobby of pulling each others' feathers. It started with the odd tug at a leg, then yanking at tail and breast feathers before progressing on to anywhere they can get hold of one.

 

The five of them live in an Eglu Cube and I let them free range whenever I can. They get plenty of corn thrown in to keep them occupied but still the pulling goes on.

 

What can I do? I'd not had this problem before I got the White Stars...

[Egluntyne]

You could spray them with Anti peck spray.

 

There is one called Ukadex, which smells absolutely vile, and makes the hens grey, which works well for many people.

 

Johnsons also do an Anti peck spray which you can get at a decent pet shop.

 

You could also fit them with Bumpa bits, which you can get from the **Wernlas Collection**. Give them a ring and they will send you some in exchange for a few stamps and an SAE.

 

Read about Bumpa bits **here**

[Helen&Lee]

I have a feather pecker in the midst too

 

It took me ages to work out the culprit but I have her in my sights now

 

I've tried the Johnson spray and had no luck - but many have had results with that on here.

 

I have noticed a difference by putting whole cabbages in and have brought some seed bars held together with honey from the pet shop.

 

Basically make their treats something to work for

 

Helen

[SueChick]

I have been battling with a balding chicken for months now. I finally decided that instead of some sort of parasite infection causing Nugget to pull her own feathers out, that it was probably her sister helping herself. I tried the yucky Ukadex and it did work for a couple of weeks, just long enough for nearly all of the quite extensive bald patch to be regrown with beautiful black feathers again. Then literally overnight the whole area had been stripped again. The problem was better when there was a pekka block, seed ball and cabbage hanging up but as soon as they had stripped these (and it doesn't take them long!), back she went to the feather pulling game.

 

I just can't keep up with the amount of seed balls they go through and the caggage in the hanging bird feeder is gone in an hour. So anyway, I have resulted to bumper bits much to my disgust and I will see how it goes as I have only put it on tonight.

[drakesmith]

Thanks for your suggestions; I opted for the Bumper Bits as I wasn't sure that spraying anti-pecking spray onto what looks like very tender skin would be kind to the already down-trodden birds.

 

The first one was tricky to fit and the poor Leghorn selected for the task was surprisingly calm about it. Having got the knack, the others all went on without any bother at all.

 

I would have expected the ladies to be bothered or irritated by the bumper bits - but not at all. There's been no visible attempt to scratch at them or to try and get them off.

 

I did see someone having a go at a bit of pulling, but without success; so here's to the next few weeks of feather growth!

 

Again - thanks for the advice.

[Egluntyne]

That is good to hear.

 

Let's hope they forget their bad habits over the next few weeks.

[Gallina]

No one should feel ashamed of using bumper bits: the beastly hen wearing one should feel ashamed.

 

I waited too long before fitting my first bumper bit because it seemed cruel. But it isn't, it works, and the hen wearing it doesn't even appear to notice it after the first ten minutes.

 

It is more shameful to allow a bully to strip your hens bare.

[Chicken Lady]

this is so interesting - I've had a problem with feather pecking just lately too, to the point where I have one particularly vulnerable hen separated (temporarily, I hope) for her own protection.

 

One question though - with the bumper bits, how long do you leave them on for?

[theherd123]

 

One question though - with the bumper bits, how long do you leave them on for?

 

I usually leave them on as long as is needed until the behaviour stops - anything from a few days to a few weeks.

 

It depends on how determined the chook is to try & keep feather pulling