[stickywicket]

Hi
I've got a couple of sulmtaller cross breed bantams which are probably just over a year old. They used to have lovely feathers on their heads but sadly are now looking very bald.   They have been like this for months now.
I just thought they were starting to moult so thought nothing of it but the feathers never quite grow back even though there are blood feathers protruding.
I took them to the vet a few weeks ago. She thought there may be some feather pecking going on. I don't notice this very often but have started using an anti peck spray (Johnsons).
The vet also gave me some drops (very expensive)  to put on them to deter mites. I am still using these.
I haven't noticed any improvement  
Next step is antibiotics which I don't really want to do as it means another large vets bill and no eggs for several weeks.
The chooks seem very happy and healthy otherwise  
They are with 2 older birds and have plenty of room to run about so I don't think they are bored etc
I have also been giving them a bit of cat food for protein to discourage feather eating .
Has any one else got this problem or any suggestions
Many thanks.
I have tried to post some pics but it says file is too large

[joyfull]

more than likely it is feather pecking and you cannot be with them all the time so may be being done when you aren't around - perhaps over night. Try fitting beak clips to them all to see if there is any improvement 

[stickywicket]

Thanks for the reply.
Do the beak clips fit 'one size' as it were.
My chooks only have little beaks!

[Lindeggs]

Are all your birds bantams or are the older girls bigger?  If they are bigger it might pay to seperate them for a little while to see if the feather-pecking stops.

I was reading an interesting article about feather-pecking the other day.  It basically said that it can indicate a lack of a variety of nutrients (protein is one but there are also others) and/or boredom.  It also pointed out that even after you remove the initial cause of the problem, it can be very hard indeed to break the habit.  That's where the beak bits come in.

Good luck resolving this problem.  It can be a challenging one.

[hillfooter]

Yes I suspect it's feather pecking too.  If so boredom is the likely cause and you should encourage them to be more active if possible. 

The first thing to do is stop feeding high energy food such as cat food and other forms of protein or any treats.  Feed them on layers pellets only and no corn for a while make them forage for food so they don't spend their time being inactive.  Beak bits may help too and they usually come in different sizes.  They usually bite through them in around 4 weeks and they fall out.  If you use beak bits they are easy to fit but ensure they don'y obstruct their nostrils.  They quickly get used to them and it doesn't stop them eating but they can't close their beaks enough to pluck the feathers.

The feathers should grow back after a moult naturally and you can induce a forced moult but I suggest this as a last resort only.

HF

[stickywicket]

Thanks for the info.

I let them out to free range quite often so they are quite active but I'll cut out the treats for a bit and see if that helps. I suspect the pecking probably goes on at night so perhaps I should keep them apart for a few nights to see if there's any improvement?

Are there any anti-peck sprays that anyone would recommend?
I keep using the Johnsons now that I have bought it in the hope it might eventually work

Thanks again.

[hillfooter]

Are there any anti-peck sprays that anyone would recommend?
I keep using the Johnsons now that I have bought it in the hope it might eventually work

No, in many years of chicken keeping up to 50 birds at a time I've never needed to use antipeck spray.  There's usually some husbandry issue causing it and you are far better to deal with that.  The antipeck bits are also preferable than using smelly chemicals and I've certainly found these useful in combination with trying to identify the causes on the odd ocassion I've had a problem.

HF

[joyfull]

in severe cases you can use a product called ukadex which is brown and smelly - Grannie Annie uses it especially on her turkeys  .
Hillfooter have you ever tried fitting beak clips to over 100 turkeys that are intent on eating each others feathers? 

[hillfooter]

in severe cases you can use a product called ukadex which is brown and smelly - Grannie Annie uses it especially on her turkeys  .
Hillfooter have you ever tried fitting beak clips to over 100 turkeys that are intent on eating each others feathers? 

Well now you come to mention it I haven't . 

I suppose that when you rear intensively there's inevitably husbandry issues and in such cases you can probably excuse debeaking etc.  However such methds shouldn't really be needed with back garden poultry which is how I'd characterise mine and most keepers on this website.

HF

[stickywicket]

Thanks .

I only have 4 chooks within 25m of electric netting and I let them free range sometimes and they have a pecking block so I don't think it's boredom .

I'll try reducing their treats and maybe separating them at night?

[Sassy]

There is some good advice here.

I am not a vet but I am unsure of what use antibiotics would be unless there is an underlying medical problem suspected. It is more likely to be behavioural and antibiotics will only help the vet

[stickywicket]

Thanks everyone. I've ordered some beak clips from The Wernlas Collection.
They were helpful as well.