Chickpea
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Feather LossHelp please....
When I let my hens out early this morning, I noticed that one has lost the feathers around her rear!! Not only a few, but ALL of them, she's bald around her bottom. She hasn't stopped eating, is still in good form and hasn't, by appearances lost condition. I inspect them by picking them up most days and she doesn't seem to have mites or lice or anything crawling....She may have stopped laying though as the egg production is down the last few days. Could this be a natural moult, if so it's pretty scary!!!
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saffranne
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if you have check her for the obvious and she is clear of all creepy little monsters,then i would imagine that it is a natural moult,how old is she and are they all the same age?
amongs my flock there are two moulting at the moment,they look terrible and one in particular she looks like oven ready,they are both eating and running around chasing the cats and pecking the horse's legs
give a few weeks they will have regain their feathers back,have no doubt others will join in and give more advice
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Chickpea
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They are all around the same age, although they didn't all come into lay at the same time, there was a few weeks separating them. They are around 10 months old now. She does seem fine, but they did have rather a nasty shock last Sunday morning when, in broad daylight, a fox was sniffing around the run. Thank goodness I had them in the coop right then and not running around the garden or woods! She isn't sore or anything either, just bald! I did notice some feathers in the hen house on Wednesday when I cleaned it out though...
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saffranne
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forgot to ask,is she being peck by others ?
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Bugs
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| saffranne wrote: | | forgot to ask,is she being peck by others ? |
I was wondering that.
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barefoot_boo
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Sounds like the moult to me.
When hens go in for a spot of bullying, are they known to peck around the vent? Casting my memory back to when I had hens, if they ever decided to peck each other it was always around the neck/chest area. Not being contrary, just hadn't heard of bottom-pecking before! 
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Chickpea
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| saffranne wrote: | | forgot to ask,is she being peck by others ? |
No, quite positive of that they don't peck at one another.
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saffranne
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in that case i would say,she is going into moult as i say given a few weeks her feathers should be back to normal,must also mention some hens takes longer than others
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sunnyside
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Must admit I had one lose all her feathers arround her rump. I didn't think she was being pecked but she was too young to be moulting and had no parasites and nothing obviously wrong. I fitted beak bits to the more dominent hens and within a few days she was starting to regrow feathers-took a long while for her to look normal again though. I never actually saw her being pecked but it was a too much of a coincidence the speed the feathers returned once my pushier hens had lost their ability to pluck feathers.... I only had to use the bits for a couple of weeks-it just broke the habit.
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Chickpea
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I take it back about pecking...I've just witnessed her being pecked by another hen! She's got some quite nasty looking peck marks too! I've rubbed some Aloe into the sore patches... She didn't like being picked up, which is unusual for them. 
Now what can I do? Beak guards? Anybody got a good supplier of sundry items like that?
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sunnyside
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Beak bits is what you want. little C shape guards that go with the open ends in the nostrels and the bar in between the two halves of the beak. Look horrible and hens do have a fit first day you put them on but they do work for stopping the habbit and you normally don't have to leave them in forever. just till habbit is broken/feathers regrown whatever comes first.
you can buy them from The Domestic Fowl Trust-easily found on a web search-think they are about 10p each plus postage of 50p or so. order on the phone else you will be got for standard postage which is loads!(its best to order extra as when I fitted them I lost a few with struggling hens spitting them lengh of garden)
It is important to stop feather plucking as it can esculate to the whole flock doing it-and if they draw blood can go to cannalbalism.
hens can be pretty vile.
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Bugs
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We did get some of those when ours were really picking on each other the first spring (in our limited experience early spring seems to be worst - they seem to get a bit excitable and maybe in larger groups start (re)establishing orders) but fortunately didn't have to use them. Are they also called bumper bits? And some places I'm sure I read something horrible about them having to pierce the nostril to go in, but the ones we got had plastic bobbles on the ends and didn't look too terrible - as you say sunnyside they don't look "nice" and I wouldn't like to have to use them but the alternative is much worse.
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saffranne
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poor thing,i do hope they stop,the one thing i do use use when they peck is the anti-pecking spray,have never use the clip but have seen it on hens from the breeder
i bought the spray from him as they were pecking on my gold brahma and cream legbar,it smells really bad,was told by a friend of mine that it smells 20 times worst than a tap room
on the can it says ( ukadex olium animal foetidum )it is use on farm animals
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Chickpea
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I've ordered the anti peck and some wound powder from P & T poultry tonight. I do prefer to use natural things, like the aloe where I can, but she is very badly pecked. I was reading on another site that you can use vick vapor rub as a quick fix anti-peck substance....
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sean
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Vicks might work. It's brilliant for stopping puppies from chewing stuff.
Before anyone goes off on one I'll just point out that we only really used it on electric cables so letting him chew them would have been bad.
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sunnyside
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Watch her closely. It not unheard of for hens to kill each other once they have made a small wound as the others join in and what was minor injury can soon mean death.
If you don't want to use bits I would consider seperating her from the others until she is totally healed and refeathered. put her where they can see her all day but cannot touch so they do not forget her and attack when she is put back in.
The problem is bare skin-sores and any redness attract pecking. Thats why feeders are nearly always red based-hens literally can't resist red.
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saffranne
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the anti-peck spray does work straight away,i do hope she recovers from her wounds,do let us know how she goes on
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Chickpea
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I could separate her during the day by putting her in the 8ft run and attach it to the coop, that way she would see and be near the others, and they her, but I would have to put her in the house for night as there is nowhere else for her, however, all the peck marks made yesterday had healed over by this morning, so she didn't get pecked last night, but as soon as they were let out, one particular girl just pecked at her again, no blood, just a peck. She still looks in good condition, and she did lay yesterday.... funny after all this time, I've had them since August/Septemeber last year, and they have lived very happily together, that this should happen now.
The spray and wound powder is on it's way.....
And - thanks for your help and support everyone, I appreciate it.
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fenwoman
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One little idea here. Feather pecking can be caused by a lack of calcium. Lack of eggs might also be a pointer to this. To this end mix some limestone flour in with the food. Or use soluble calcium in the water.
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Chickpea
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Fenwoman, I guess that could account for why there are never any feathers in the house or coop, they must get eaten! Mind you, they certainly get a good balanced diet, with layers pellets, mixed corn and then the treats they get, but I will try that calcium in the water. Will ordinary calcuim from boots do, or does it have to be vetinerary type?
There are now 2 birds pecked, and today one layed a fine shelled egg which had broken, so I was thinking they are coming to the end of the laying for now. No more blood letting though, thank goodness.
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fenwoman
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What sort of treats do you give? If you feed sunflower hearts these can help deplete calium levels. I have used a product which I got from interhatch called calciboost but the best and cheapest which I use now and which I have recommended to a friend with plucking and eating problems is limestone flour. You can buy a tub full from horse feed suppliers. My friend has had his birds on it for a week and today told me that the feather eating has stopped. I think I paid £3.99 for a 5kg tub of the stuff and you simply add it as a top dressing to their normal feed.
I hope this is of some help to you.
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Chickpea
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| saffranne wrote: | | the anti-peck spray does work straight away,i do hope she recovers from her wounds,do let us know how she goes on |
Update...
It ended up with four of the six being badly pecked. The anti-peck spray did nothing at all! I have separated the offening hen (yes, I caught her red handed), and she is in an 8ft run attached to the coop. Not ideal as I have to put her in the henhouse to lay each evening, and then she has to sleep in there for safety's sake. Overnight, in the dark, there is no bloodletting so each morning we start again... This afternoon I thought I'd try her back in the coop with the rest as it's been a few days and the four are starting to regrow lost feathers. I stood and watched, and within a couple of minutes, she had pecked one of the other poor things!! She's in the run again now (or the doghouse...)
Having tried the anti-peck spray & separation I have to pick the beak-bits up tomorrow. I ordered them as soon as somone mentioned them and haven't been able to get them before. I just hope they work, or this very pretty hen will be on her last chance!!
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mandycharlie
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I know this is a daft question, but are you giving them grit with oyster shells mixed in?
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Chickpea
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Yes Mandy, they have always had it, and they do get through it too.
The bird in question is a really beautiful hen so I have to give her as best chance as I can, but.... she is no doubt a cannibal and I'm not sure if she will ever now stop.
They gdo get a very good mixed diet, well balanced with nutritious treats and layers pellets/corn tonic drink etc... can't do more.
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mandycharlie
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I think your probably on the right track, keeping her separate but within sight of her friends may well be enough to break the cycle.
She should be fine to roost with them in their hen house, mostly birds just settle down and get some kip at night time.
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