[JohnRKaye]

Our small Black Rock (Poppy) has lost all the feathers on her back, around her vent and her wing shoulders.  We are unsure if this is her own doing or that of the three larger birds who habitate the same roost/pen as we do not see when the plucking takes place.  We have tried 'vaseline' as prescribed by the poultry supplier and also anti peck spray (the sort commercially available for vent pecking etc.) but the problem persists.  New feathers grow back to a stubble and get ripped out before they are mature.  Any advise would be appreciated. J n W

[Mum2mj]

Hi I'm not sure what the anti peck spray is but do you any purple spray? It's called gentian violet you can use on the wound to mask the blood & antiseptic. It's also worth checking for lice/mites & maybe making sure they have enough to do? Bored hens can be vicious! 

[New shoot]

I'd echo the advice to check for lice and also making sure the hens are occupied with stuff to do - greens hanging up for them to peck maybe.

It doesn't always follow that the smallest hen is bottom of the pecking order, but it is strong possibility that the other 3 are pulling those feathers out.  What about trying beak rings that stop the birds getting a grip on feathers.  They won't like them at first, but it could help break the habit 

[JohnRKaye]

Thanks to both.  The anti peck spray is similar to the purple spray you mention.  We use diatoms to keep mites at bay and do try to keep them occupied as well, even when they are in their large run (hanging greens, apples etc).  If we are at home they have the entire bottom half of the garden to scratch about in.  We noticed this morning that two of the other birds are also showing signs of bald patches but nowhere near as bad (yet) but the largest bird, a speckledy, shows no signs of attack.

[JohnRKaye]

We have found some beak rings on Amazon and will give them a try.  Thanks again. 

[grinling]

What are you feeding them? Are they all laying?
One of mine was using the smallest as a snack bar,but I put out dog food for about a week. This stopped when eggs started again.Mine free range all day.

[JohnRKaye]

They are fed layers pellets and corn supplemented with suspended greens and apples to peck at.  They also get scraps and plain yogurt.  They all lay daily.

[RubyR3d]

One of mine is also bald round her back end and looks like a plucked oven ready. Your last post echos my own worries about it. I only have 2 left and have not seen any pecking. But any feathers on the floor the feathered one eats. Is there a calcium supplement from holland and barrett say, that I could give a go. They have top of the range pellets, fresh sweetcorn and cabbage hung up every day, crushed shell and grit and iv been scattering dried mealworms around. At night they have dried corn as well. Along with you I'm in the dark.

[JohnRKaye]

We have now got the beak rings and are giving this a try on the bird that seems to be the culprit.

[JohnRKaye]

Not much change to Poppy so we've decided to fit the rings to all 4 birds and then, once Poppy has recovered, remove them one by one in a process of elimination. Does anyone have any thoughts about this?

[New shoot]

I think fitting beak rings to them all will be a good idea.  Sometimes another hen just takes over if you stop the dominant one pecking.

Once Poppy has feathered back up, I would be tempted to let her be the only one without a beak ring for a couple of weeks, so she gets a bit of an advantage over the bully or bullies.  If she is pulling her own feathers out, it will be obvious, but my guess is she is being picked on for some reason.

[Sassy]

They are fed layers pellets and corn supplemented with suspended greens and apples to peck at.  They also get scraps and plain yogurt.  They all lay daily.

Are you feeding oyster shell? They need this as a calcium source and to make egg shell. If not I would try this and just feed layers with nothing else. It is NOT a good idea to feed yogurt as they cannot digest it. A live yogurt is good for about a week if they have been on meds tHat upset gut bacteria, that's all. Only introduce other things once the feather pecking has settled down.

[joyfull]

if you feel the need to feed a prebiotic to chickens then rather than feeding yoghurt try Avipro plus 

[JohnRKaye]

Thanks Sassy. Yes we do feed them Oyster Shell and we got the advice ref the yogurt from a web site called http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/chicken-treat-chart-the-best-treats-for-backyard-chickens, which lists a host of treats for chickens and they love it, and it said it was good for their digestive system so a conflict of information here I'm afraid!

[joyfull]

chickens are lactose intolerant, however the cultures in a live natural yoghurt are said to break down the lactose making it safe for chickens, how safe this is I'm not to sure so will continue to use avipro-plus should my hens ever need it (I only give mine anything like this after antibiotics so not very often - infact I haven't had to use any for several years).
Goats milk though is supposed to be safe for chickens.