Feather Pecking

[MAT10]

I have a Silver-laced Wyandotte with sparse feathers at the base of her back/tail. At first I thought it was from just coming out of a molt & wasn't fully feathered back. However, today I saw my Red Sexlink pecking at her and when I took a closer look I was broken hearted to see how bald she had become, now realizing she's getting pecked. Not sure if my RSL is the only culprit but is the only one I've physically witnessed in the act.
Thankfully the skin isn't broken nor looks irritated. I need some advise for what to do for her.
Today after seeing it, I sprayed with Veterycin wound care as a precautionary measure then covered it with poultry dust. It blended it into her black/white feather coloring & I'm hoping it will help not to draw as much attention to her bare skin. I've tried BluKote in the past to no avail. I'm attachng some pics.

Is there something I can/should be doing for her?

 

[rosemarythyme]

I'd look at dealing with the culprit first. What does your set up look like? What do you feed the flock?

Feather picking can sometimes be related to protein levels, but more commonly is a result of boredom or stress.

Have you looked into pinless peepers for the culprit?

 

[MAT10]

I'd look at dealing with the culprit first. What does your set up look like? What do you feed the flock?

Feather picking can sometimes be related to protein levels, but more commonly is a result of boredom or stress.

Have you looked into pinless peepers for the culprit

I'd look at dealing with the culprit first. What does your set up look like? What do you feed the flock?

Feather picking can sometimes be related to protein levels, but more commonly is a result of boredom or stress.

Have you looked into pinless peepers for the culprit?

I have 10 hens & their feed is 18% crumble layer feed. Is it too often to hang a small canister of black oil sunflower seeds daily??? I feed hard boiled eggs occassionally & sometimes a cabbage head or pumpkin suet. I also sprout lentils. BUT I don't really know how much I can give or frequency without causing any imbalance to the normal feed.

Besides a 4' x 10' coop their enclosed run is 4' x 16' with a pop door to the back of the coop for an additional 3' x 24' which I manually open but not in bad weather. Nicer & drier days I'll give them access to the yard varying from 2 hours to most the day...2 x a week minimal. There is an adjacent open run 5' x 20' BUT not in use at this time due to the wet weather.
Adjacent to the enclosed run is a hardware cloth separated space of 4' x 4' with a roost This is our jail for a broody or naughty hen / hospital for an injured hen.

I try to keep them busy with the treats & also have some colored plastic plates hung for pecking at. Two small containers of crushed oyster shells also available. The flock has been together for a year now & no problems like this until now.

Sorry this is such a long read
Thank you for your help!

Attaching coop pics.

 

[MAT10]

Additional photos

 

[rosemarythyme]

I have 10 hens & their feed is 18% crumble layer feed. Is it too often to hang a small canister of black oil sunflower seeds daily??? I feed hard boiled eggs occassionally & sometimes a cabbage head or pumpkin suet. I also sprout lentils. BUT I don't really know how much I can give or frequency without causing any imbalance to the normal feed.

Besides a 4' x 10' coop their enclosed run is 4' x 16' with a pop door to the back of the coop for an additional 3' x 24' which I manually open but not in bad weather. Nicer & drier days I'll give them access to the yard varying from 2 hours to most the day...2 x a week minimal. There is an adjacent open run 5' x 20' BUT not in use at this time due to the wet weather.
Adjacent to the enclosed run is a hardware cloth separated space of 4' x 4' with a roost This is our jail for a broody or naughty hen / hospital for an injured hen.

I try to keep them busy with the treats & also have some colored plastic plates hung for pecking at. Two small containers of crushed oyster shells also available. The flock has been together for a year now & no problems like this until now.

18% isn't bad but the extras might be diluting down the protein. Occasional treats are fine and they do give the birds something to peck at, but try to keep it minimal.

Unfortunately even birds that have been raised together and lived together for years can be affected by pecking order changes and what was once plenty for them to live peacefully becomes no longer enough. With spring in full swing, hormone changes might be what kicked off this bad behavior, or it could be a hold over from being more tightly confined in winter, I don't know.

With your set up, one issue is that while you technically have enough space for 10 in terms of footprint, the reality is you have 1 narrow run that's too small for the number of birds, then a 2nd narrow run - and the narrowness means it's difficult to add clutter and items to keep the birds occupied and to provide hiding space for a bird that may be getting chased around by another. The 3rd run space is bigger but sounds like mostly a summer thing, which is fine for that time of year but doesn't help with crowding or boredom during winter.

You can try the pinless peepers. It might turn out to just be the one problem bird, or you may find that there's others contributing. Peepers aren't a long term solution but sometimes the goal is just to break the habit and hope for the best.

If that doesn't work, you're looking at having to rethink the set up - maybe that 3rd run can be roofed over to be put in use permanently, for example - or the possibility of rehoming the problem bird(s).

 

[MAT10]

Thank you so much for all the feedback. Gives me some things to think about BUT what until changes can be made??? How do I care for "Oreo's" bare skin now or do I do nothing?
I understand & appreciate what your saying about space & clutter. However, they do have a small play gym & a couple of lean-to's for hiding that are not visible.

Please define minimal. I hear that all the time but nothing specific...like 1x week for this or that- X amount of this or that for 10 hens. ?????

In 2022 we got our 1st five hens then, added five more spring of 2023. As I reflect back, we had NO problems! BUT, hens never got the treats (strictly layer feed); during summer they free ranged ALOT & winter time out was very rare.. No special dust bath either; no pecking problems, no heat stress & I'm posting photo of that set-up (4'x5' original, with another 4'x5' added on). Both had/have sand floors.

In year #2 with the combined flock, I've had 1 hen pecked & bloodied, 2 heat-stress incidents, 1 eye injury, 1 lethargic hen (unknown cause) & a broody hen 4 times. Is that my reward for expanding the flock? who knew I'd become an overnight novist chicken vet.

Any ideas for pecking toy/s distractions?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I have 10 hens & their feed is 18% crumble layer feed. Is it too often to hang a small canister of black oil sunflower seeds daily??? I feed hard boiled eggs occassionally & sometimes a cabbage head or pumpkin suet. I also sprout lentils. BUT I don't really know how much I can give or frequency without causing any imbalance to the normal feed.

The general rule of thumb is that treats should form no more than 10% of their feed. As long as the regular feed is 90% of what they eat they will get a balanced diet. So how do you get to 10%. if they can clean it up within 10 to 20 minutes you are OK. That's not an exact science but close enough.

18% protein in the main feed is fine, many of us feed a lower protein feed. I'm not one that believes you need to force as much protein down them as you can, but some of that depends on what your goals are with them. If you are raising them for meat or for show they need a higher protein.

The sunflower seeds are probably about 15% protein, which is not bad at all. They have a lot of oil in them which makes the feathers really shiny but they don't need much for that. I'd limit them for the oil content, not protein.

Besides a 4' x 10' coop their enclosed run is 4' x 16' with a pop door to the back of the coop for an additional 3' x 24' which I manually open but not in bad weather. Nicer & drier days I'll give them access to the yard varying from 2 hours to most the day...2 x a week minimal. There is an adjacent open run 5' x 20' BUT not in use at this time due to the wet weather.

I'm not sure what your weather concerns are. Once mine fully feather out at 5 weeks I don't worry about them being out in the rain. If they want to they can get out of rain but mine often like to be out in it as rain often drives worms up where they can get them.

I try to keep them busy with the treats & also have some colored plastic plates hung for pecking at. Two small containers of crushed oyster shells also available. The flock has been together for a year now & no problems like this until now.

I don't much like those narrow runs either. A chicken cannot get past a bully without getting too close to her. But you've gone a long time without issues.

I've only seen feather pecking like this once, a hen was picking neck feathers off of the rooster and he just sat there letting her do it. He was getting a bald spot. I locked him up for a couple of days and the problem went away. In your case I'd probably lock the bully up for a few days instead of the one losing feathers to see if that helps. I'd think it is mostly boredom but I can't be sure. Locking one up for a few days could break that habit. I don't think it is due to a protein deficiency.

 

[MAT10]

The general rule of thumb is that treats should form no more than 10% of their feed. As long as the regular feed is 90% of what they eat they will get a balanced diet. So how do you get to 10%. if they can clean it up within 10 to 20 minutes you are OK. That's not an exact science but close enough.

18% protein in the main feed is fine, many of us feed a lower protein feed. I'm not one that believes you need to force as much protein down them as you can, but some of that depends on what your goals are with them. If you are raising them for meat or for show they need a higher protein.

The sunflower seeds are probably about 15% protein, which is not bad at all. They have a lot of oil in them which makes the feathers really shiny but they don't need much for that. I'd limit them for the oil content, not protein.


I'm not sure what your weather concerns are. Once mine fully feather out at 5 weeks I don't worry about them being out in the rain. If they want to they can get out of rain but mine often like to be out in it as rain often drives worms up where they can get them.

I don't much like those narrow runs either. A chicken cannot get past a bully without getting too close to her. But you've gone a long time without issues.

I've only seen feather pecking like this once, a hen was picking neck feathers off of the rooster and he just sat there letting her do it. He was getting a bald spot. I locked him up for a couple of days and the problem went away. In your case I'd probably lock the bully up for a few days instead of the one losing feathers to see if that helps. I'd think it is mostly boredom but I can't be sure. Locking one up for a few days could break that habit. I don't think it is due to a protein deficiency.

AWESOME information!!!! Helps ALOT and thank you. I mostly boosted the protien during moult as winter was approaching fast & they started molt in Nov ( I AM a worrier). I'll cut back now that I understand a little better.
Note: My SLW did not run away. She just stood there & let my RSL peck at her

Take care my friend ❤

Haha...just found the edit button AFTER a second afterthought reply.

 

[MAT10]

Afterthought: I would tend to agree with the boredom thing as they love, love, love to range the WHOLE yard.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Thank you so much for all the feedback. Gives me some things to think about BUT what until changes can be made??? How do I care for "Oreo's" bare skin now or do I do nothing?

I wouldn't do anything to Oreo specifically - anything you add could irritate her skin, or it could require constant application which gets tiresome for you and stressful for her. Her damage isn't too bad and the skin doesn't look damaged.

Please define minimal. I hear that all the time but nothing specific...like 1x week for this or that- X amount of this or that for 10 hens. ?????

As Ridgerunner noted, the general number quoted on here is treats shouldn't exceed 10% of their intake. It's not a magic cut off of course.

In year #2 with the combined flock, I've had 1 hen pecked & bloodied, 2 heat-stress incidents, 1 eye injury, 1 lethargic hen (unknown cause) & a broody hen 4 times. Is that my reward for expanding the flock? who knew I'd become an overnight novist chicken vet.

Any ideas for pecking toy/s distractions?

Age and hormones could possibly be factors as well. Some birds age better than others, so if a hen starts slowing down more than the others the flock may see it as weak and that could cause pecking order or bullying issues.

Hopefully you can find some ideas in the clutter thread for things to keep them busy: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/page-6#post-25037140