Before I begin I thought I would put out an up to date portrait of each of the girls in the order of their pecking order.
Pepper
Dotty
Bluebell
Amber
Honey
Last February my girls started feather pulling. At the time I put it down to the stress of losing Treacle who had been top hen. We had to have her put to sleep after being very ill for three weeks and having completely stopped eating no matter what we tried.
I tried everything to stop this behaviour, anti peck sprays, telling off and water spraying when I saw it happening, boredom busters in the run, added protein, nothing worked.
I couldn’t separate them as they were all doing it and it seemed to be a bonding activity that they enjoyed. They would pull out each others feathers while in the dust bath.
All the girls had bare necks and heads except top hen Pepper who had a bare behind instead.
The girls moulted in the winter and at last got their feathers back again. I was so pleased to have them fully feathered again.
About the same time of year, this year, two of the big girls were getting their necks plucked again. I started to notice on other blogs and forums some similar behaviour. On “Hen Cam” Terry had noticed this behaviour in her hens and like mine it wasn’t bullying. She called it “preening gone haywire” which is exactly what I felt it was with my girls. Terry felt the same as I do with my girls, that although we don’t like it, they aren’t bothered by it and we have to just leave them to it. That is if there is no blood or injury of course.
Today I have noticed several posts on the “Down The Lane” forum saying they are experiencing this too. I wondered why it is starting at this time of year and then had a light bulb moment. This is the time of year the hens start laying again.
My two little bantys started sparring with each other just before they started laying both in the summer and again recently after their moult. They would fly at each with their neck feathers raised, despite usually being really close. It only happened twice each time then they settled back happily together. I concluded that it must be hormones to do with coming into lay again
Could it be the same thing that sparks the feather pecking?
I have also noticed that since coming back into lay Pepper has been a little more aggressive towards the bantys. Whereas she was tolerant of them before it is as if she needs to remind them of their place with a swift peck now and then.
I discussed my theory about the feather pulling with my eldest son last night (he used to keep chickens) and he suggested it may not be coming into lay that effects the feather pulling but rather the moult itself. He said that maybe when they moult they stop pulling feathers as the feathers are falling out and then when all the feathers are back in they resume the behaviour.
I thought he may have a point but then I realised that the girls have been fully feathered for a while now. The bantys were through the moult and fully feathered by November and the big girls by December so there has been a four month gap of no feather pulling.
The other difference this time round is that the bantys haven’t had any feathers pulled yet. I wonder if it’s because they are mature now and move away. I really hope this is the case because I would hate to see them plucked again. At the moment it is just Bluebell and Dotty that are missing some neck feathers and it doesn’t seem to be getting any worse for now.
I would love it not to get worse but I know that only time will tell.
This is just a theory on my part but it does seem a coincidence. I wonder what others think. I would love your opinions.
The link to “Hen Cam” and “Down The Lane” is on my side bar.
Click here to see the history of my flock.
That is so interesting . I was thinking of the age of your girls and unless I am wrong they don’t usually moult in the first year and your banties especially were young .They moult it seems to get ready for spring so that they can be beautiful and if they were going to have chicks the new feathers would keep them warm also they would be attracted to a mate in the spring . What if they were not ready to moult but had the same instincts so they had to help each other out by pulling the feathers of the others because they would not come out by them selves ? (only a daft thought )
I was especially interested in your bit about “sparring ” My two new girls Shadow and Bluebell have just started doing this the last week or so ..Just for a moment or two eyeball to eyeball necks stretched ,they don’t even touch each other. Then they are back together again .I have never seen this before. Is this a sign do you reckon?
You are right, they didn’t moult last year as it was their first winter. This also disproves my son’s theory.
It is also interesting that your girls had a slight confrontational moment. If they go on to lay soon it be that the onset of laying causes this sort of behaviour. I really do think the start of laying sparks something in them. Pepper shows the little girls their place more often since she has started laying again.
Now that IS interesting. The things we pick up on by only having a few hens.
I’ve never had to deal w/ feather pulling (thankfully, cuz I’ve dealt with nearly everything else) but I have notice Honey growing and snapping at Poppy more lately. And I couldn’t figure out why. But the two of them are just finishing up molting and I am expecting them to start laying again in early March and you might just be on to something there.
That is interesting. I have just had another chicken friend say the same thing in an e-mail about her girls. I am really wondering if there is a connection here.
Dotty has just laid her first egg after a months break and boy did she shout about it!
And just tonight, the three were out having some garden time. And Honey growled and lunged at Poppy which is so out of character. And Poppy squatted. I KNEW it was time for them to get back to laying. And if Poppy is squatting, then I’m totally guessing that we have some hormonal ladies. Hopefully, they will begin to lay in about 7 days and we can just move past all this.
Definitely about to lay again. I knew Dotty was about to lay again because she started to squat. It had been the same with Pepper and the same with the little girls too. I have just put out my next post with a photo of all the ladies eggs.