Feather picking! Why? Why?

Date sort Score sort
peepkeeper

peepkeeper

Songster
12 Years
Jul 5, 2007
412
8
141
upstate New York
My chickens have started picking at each other's feathers! Why are they doing this? They chase each other around and yank out a feather. Now I have one chicken with a bald butt, one with a bald patch on her back, and my silkie has a bald patch on her head! Why are they doing this and how do I get them to stop? They are in good health otherwise, too young at 7 months to moult, have good nutrition except they can't free range for bugs in this weather, and they can't be overcrowded with 10 chickens in a 8 by 12 coop with a large yard. Are they just bored?
 
Last edited:
I had the same problem. I was feeding chopped corn in addition to their regular diet, thinking I was giving them a treat. What I actually did was create a deficiency in their diet. They needed methionine in the worse way. I immediately stopped the chopped corn and put them on a supplement. Now three weeks later, they look like a new flock. This was 11 buff orp pullets that I raised.
 
As I understand it after my research, we should feed scratch in very small amounts only as a treat. If you have them on a poulty feed such as a grower or laying feed, it is considered a balanced diet. It is said that feeding exess scrarch dilutes the poultry feed thereby causing a deficiency. Now I only feed mabey a cup of scratch like every 2 or 3 days, if at all.
According to all articles regarding feather picking and eating, this is a sure indication of diet deficiency. They are lacking in methionine which I believe to be a sulphur compound.
I purchased a feed supplement called "Poultry Booster" from Rooster Booster.com. It is a pellet form that I add to the laying pellets
I have noticed a marked improvement as a result of using it. They were bald in spots and tormenting each other. The feather picking has now ceased and new feathers are growing out.
 
You can also feed black oil sunflower seeds. Besides the Methione it has 30% protein which they could also be lacking. We are in the middle of a very cold winter here and I mix my own scratch. Half cracked corn (to help produce heat) and half black oil sunflower seeds. The feather eating problem I had before adding the black oil sunflower seeds has stopped.
 
Yep, feathers are mostly protein and even though your feed should be sufficient, adding the sunflower seed treat will increase the protein to the level the flock actually needs. Eating feathers is giving them additional protein that they want and apparently need.
Commercial feed isn't always enough, and helping with high protein treats when needed works well to stop picking.

bigzio
 

Similar threads

ForFlocksSake
Is this feather plucking or from matted poop? (poopy photo)
Replies
1
Views
387
ForFlocksSake
ForFlocksSake
M
Can dominent hen be pecked on or molt at 8 months old?
Replies
2
Views
773
mich17mak
M
S
    • Like
Feather picking?
2 3 4
Replies
34
Views
3K
cityhomesteading
C
Ometra
Bare spots/ feather plucking?
2
Replies
19
Views
2K
FNF
FNF
N
    • Love
    • Like
Abandoned chicks
Replies
4
Views
676
Newchick429
N

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom