Chicken bald back

[Keanie Bean]

I've got ISSUES at the moment with some serious feather pecking. Only Marge looks anything like a chicken at the moment the other three all look like walking roast dinners and Luna has not laid for about 3 weeks.

 

I have got an action plan which goes a little like this.

 

1. give them all a good dose of Flubenvent.

2. Add cider vinegar to water.

3. Add chicken spice to food.

4. Get them fitted with bumper bits.

5. Change straw bedding to shredded paper.

6. Give plenty of hanging veg to peck at.

7. Give protein in diet in the form of catfood.

 

My questions are, how much protein is enough and secondly is there anything else I can do?

 

Thanks

 

 

Sarah.x

[Egluntyne]

I should think that just about covers it.

[Keanie Bean]

My Flubenvent, mite powder and poultry spice just arrived, so I'm off to administer . I was going to buy from Omlet but they couldnt deliver for a MONTH . www.bestpet.co.uk got my business instead and its only taken them since Monday.

 

Does anyone know about the catfood?

 

Sarah.x

[chickenlass]

 

Does anyone know about the catfood?

 

Sarah.x

Don't know about cat food but mine enjoy a tme of Tuna in spring water every now and then.

[Egluntyne]

I give mine organic cat food when they have experienced a moult.

 

They love it, they feather up quickly and it doesn't seem to have done them any harm.

 

I don't give them chicken based ones though.

[Gallina]

Hens love any kind of meat -- it doesn't have to be catfood.

 

I don't hold to the "lack of protein" theory of feather-pulling; if it were true, it would be a strange coincidence that the two feather-pullers I had also happened to be the liveliest naughtiest hens.

 

I think it starts off when they are feeling a bit bored and continues as a habit that they enjoy.

[Abbey Road Girl]

I nipped feather pecking in the bud by spraying the hen being bullied with diluted tea tree oil. In your case, you could spray them all. The oil has a very unpleasant taste.

 

Getting them in good health is obviously a good thing to do, but as Gallina has indicated the problem is with boredom, not a lack of protein per se.

 

Good luck!

[Keanie Bean]

Thanks for the replies, my biggest worry is that it is due to boredom, but I cant give them any more space as I dont have it to give.

 

I had no real problems with three chickens but the extra one I think is just too much. I'm probably going to have to give two to my mum when she moves. She is going to have a nice 200 foot garden in her new home so she can have a little chicken patch and she already knows loads about chickens from me having them.

 

I will try some big branches in their run if I can find any, if the wind gets much stronger today there could be a few around

 

I will wait and see if the measures I am taking work first though, I am very attached to all my girls. They loved their poultry spice I have just given them, although didnt take so kindly to the flubenvent .

 

 

Sarah.x

[chickencam]

My girls get plenty of protein and we still have a big feather pecking problem. Dippy my White Star has no fluffy bottom feathers and has very bald wing joints, the other white hen Bertha has no bottom feathers, Eggy has a bald crop and other bald patches, then Mother is the best feathered.

 

Eggy and Mother both have bumper bits all the time Dippy can't have one because of the shape of her top beak and she is one of the worst offenders and think she is responsible for her own bald wings. I haven't seen Bertha feather pulling.

 

I have checked mine for lice and they get a regular dusting so it isn't that. I let them out as often as I can and they get hanging greens but once they start they are hard to stop.

 

I am hoping that mine will look better after a moult because at the moment they all look pretty tatty

[Troy]

Try the dried mealworm thing too Sarah!

 

You can get a big pot of it for about £4.00. Crunch them a bit if you can bear it and they will go a long way...If you scatter them everywhere in the run it will keep them busy for a while and they won't give up looking until the last morsel has gone! That should keep them busy and out of trouble for a bit.

Most poultry and garden centres have them and I've seen them in Homebase too in the garden section.

Troy

[Keanie Bean]

Its reassuring to know I'm not the only one with s"Ooops, word censored!"py looking chickens at least, but poor Luna hasnt laid since she had all her feathers pulled out. I think the stress has stopped her from laying poor thing.

 

I'm hoping that if I cover as many bases as possible something may help at least. I want them to have some feathers back before the weather turns cold again. I'm useless at knitting so they cant have cardigans .

 

I'll give the crunched up mealworms thing a go too Troy. Thanks for that suggestion.

 

Sarah.x

[Christian]

Try the rinsed tuna idea Keanie Bean. It worked on my Laverne!

 

Are they in an Omlet run or free standing one? Peckablocks are also a good idea to try and stop the feather pecking.

 

Good luck

[Keanie Bean]

They have the eglu in a free standing run which is between 4 and 5 square metres.

 

I'll give them some rinsed tuna, they are not fussy so will gobble anything I give them. They loved the chicken spice I gave them this afternoon which was mixed in with some of the Wee Man's leftover cereal and milk.

 

Luna was a total pain to catch to administer some Flubenvent to, she seems to have lost her crouching instinct now she doesnt lay eggs any more.

 

Sarah.x