How do I accept the feather plucking?

Recently both my boys and their girlfriends paid us and the chooks a visit. They know the problem I have with the girls plucking each other but all agreed that the girls look happy and healthy albeit scruffy and bare and suggested that I should stop worrying about it. They pointed out that although it’s bothering me it’s not bothering the girls.

There is no drawing of blood and they are gentle about plucking the feathers. I see them dust bathing together while plucking each other. They don’t understand why this is undesirable.

My eldest said that the girls run is amazing and looks like a children’s play area and that there really is nothing else I can do to stop this apart from moving in with the girls full time! He also said that they will have to stop when they have no feathers left at all, very reassuring!

All our visitors have said they can see how attached to me the girls are as they follow me around and jump on me whenever they can and all our visitors are impressed with our set up.

So can I just accept this and stop worrying about it? I keep saying that there is nothing else I can do so I will just let them get on with it and try to accept that they are healthy and happy as they are. But then I go back in to them and see them even more bare and more feathers in the run and I can’t help feeling distressed about this. I am trying to accept it but it’s so frustrating.

I am continuing to do all I can to keep them occupied and I will use the water spray whenever I catch them but they do tend to stop when I go in.

I bought a pack of frozen corn on the cob today and am going to hang one at the top of the ladder each morning to give them something to peck at as well as the cabbage.

I also bought a mint plant today for the run, as it was only a pound, so cheap enough if it doesn’t survive.  I have always kept mint in a pot and never in the garden because it so invasive but that would make it perfect for the girls run (it can spread as much as it likes in there if it gets a chance!).

The very small mint plant

I surrounded it with cobbles to protect the roots then put more soil and wood chip over the cobbles.

Taking a look at the mint

The girls soon came to investigate. I decided to leave them with it for a while then go back and see if it had all gone yet.

Dotty’s poor bare neck and head

When I went back Dotty was pecking at a slice of melon so I took this to show how bad her neck is looking. I find it so upsetting to see her looking like this.

Bluebell jumps from the log to the block of wood

Bluebell often stands on the log but I haven’t managed to get a photo of her. Just as I took this she jumped across but I quite liked the action shot.

All three check out the mint

They suddenly remembered the mint and went back for a closer look. They are all three so together!

Pecking at the mint

They all had a peck of the mint and I am sure it won’t last long but I am hoping that the root will survive and it will keep coming back. Anyone who has ever tried to get rid of mint will know how hardy it is so hopefully it will survive.

So do I accept the plucking? I don’t have much choice but it is driving me to distraction!! I also think in future when I stop constantly going on about this, anyone new to read this will see photos of my girls and think they look very uncared for when actually they are very spoiled girls. It doesn’t really matter though what anyone else thinks it’s only me that is going crazy with this. I wish I could stop them but I am all out of ideas!

As a final little foot note to this post I have just noticed that this is my two hundredth post in my ten months of chicken keeping. I hope I haven’t been too negative lately because I can’t stress enough how much I love these girls.