Hen Still Pecking Feathers

[Davea]

Hi all,

A few weeks ago I posted an issue about tail pecking with my 4 pullets. My 2 golden comets keep pecking the tail feathers of my 2 Azur hens. I got some great advice and the consensus was to increase the run size.

So now I have a little over 7m² (74 sq ft) plus the hen house but they still won't quit pecking. Not sure what else I can do. Their diet is perfect from what I can tell, a mix of kitchen scraps and feed along with whatever bugs they can find.

If anyone has any wisdom it would be greatly appreciated!

 

[50-45-1]

Hi, I looked at your previous thread.
I see some feather damage but it does not seem to be feather plucking yet.
There is no bare skin ot blood drawn yet?

 

[Davea]

No nothing like that, no plucking or blood. The golden comets are at the bottom of the pecking order so I'm not sure it will go that far. Or maybe it will, I'm a noob Just every chance they get they peck at the tail feathers. The other 2 don't seem to mind at all, I think it's only me that minds tbh.

 

[rosemarythyme]

So the 74 sq ft is the original run plus the narrow extension? From the angle in the photos it looks like the run is pretty much barren of anything they can do - no piles of leaves or hay to scratch through, nothing to climb up on, nothing to provide cover if one bird is chasing another to peck at it. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/page-6#post-25037140 to help illustrate the sort of clutter that helps. Main restriction here is the main run (not sure how many sq ft it is) looks smallish so avoid anything that's too bulky or eats up too much floor space.

How much scraps are you giving them vs feed? What's the protein % of the feed? You may be diluting down the protein too much if you're giving a lot of scraps, depending on the protein numbers for the feed.

 

[Davea]

The protein content of the feed is 15% and regards to giving them scraps, it isn't huge, about a cup give or take. So I think foodbwise everything checks out. It's just strange because the 2 Azur hens never peck at tail feathers, it's only the comets.

In the run they have a roost bar and I also suspend some fruit and veg from the roof. Maybe its a case that I need to add a few more things to keep them busy. Just odd the white ones are fine

 

[rosemarythyme]

15% is pretty low, a lot of folks consider 16% protein to be too low. So upping protein and cutting back on treats is one thing to look into trying in addition to a bit more clutter in the run.

 

[Davea]

Oh sorry my mistake. I double checked and the package says 20%. Plus the scraps they get contains meat and egg. Definitely not a protein issue here. An old lady up the road from me suggested spraying perfume on their tails. Makes sense so I'll give that a try

 

[BDutch]

15% is pretty low, a lot of folks consider 16% protein to be too low. So upping protein and cutting back on treats is one thing to look into trying in addition to a bit more clutter in the run.

14-15% is fine for heritage breeds. Only laying hybrids and high productive breeds that lay an egg almost every day need feed with higher protein levels.

 

[BDutch]

I have no experience with feather pecking, but from reading a lot, I’ve learned it often starts with boredom and not enough space. Keeping different breeds doesn’t help either.
And if you have this problem its difficult to get the bad habit undone. Providing much more run space with hiding places and things to do might help. For 4 hens a really good run space is 20 m2. Free ranging if possible, is even better. Maybe you could try that supervised the last 1-2 hours before they roost?

Another solution would be to split them into two groups for a while (approx 6 weeks to forget the old habit). But then you need to make a second coop and extra run/or divide the run.

Or you can sell two hens to someone else. If you prefer to sell the peckers better be honest, but in a new situation with not too friendly hens they might stop pecking immediately.