Any advice on chickens picking each other's butts

[LhickenChicken]

I have noticed that the hens lower in the pecking order have very bare butts. Like no feathers on their butts. What can I do about this? They are getting protein supplements and kitchen scraps for treats (the protein supplement isn't a treat--it's mixed into their food.) They eat mixed grain, a BIT of oats, barley, peas, and whole flax.

 

[Shadrach]

I have noticed that the hens lower in the pecking order have very bare butts. Like no feathers on their butts. What can I do about this? They are getting protein supplements and kitchen scraps for treats (the protein supplement isn't a treat--it's mixed into their food.) They eat mixed grain, a BIT of oats, barley, peas, and whole flax.

Space usually helps to sort such problems out. Space in the coop and the run.
What commercial feed if any are you feeding them. It reads like you may not be feeding any commercial feed in which case the quantities and provenance of what you do feed them becomes very important.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Unfortunately, feather pikting is a symptom with a lot of potential causes. All of the advice above is good, because it all touches on one or more of the common causes.

Feed deficiencies, particularly certain key aminos are one common cause.

Utter boredom is another - particularly where space is at a premium. Commercial facilities are often "kept" birds 24/7, and it used to be relatively common behaviour, even when hey had (by commercial standards) significant floor space. The coop/run "thumb rules" are just that, coop and run working as a system - when the run is unavailable for extended period, the coop sq/ft rule often seems to understate the need.

Finally, illness and injury can cause the pack to pick on the ill/ijured chickens, potentially sacrificing the weaker bird to predation to rpotect the rest of the pack - or even removing the ill bird from the flock entirely.

But yes, if you put up your feed mix, I'll offer a broad opinion (where I can) of its strengths and deficiencies. I'll want to know your general location (climate matters), your breeds, and ages. If you want to generalize "meaties" or "adult commercial layers", that good enough. There isn't a serama mix, a brahma mix, a cochin mix, or an australorp mix - but there are differing feed recommends for different ages and broad purpose.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

OK, so you are cold - that's good, chickens tend to eat more when its cold - and you have no idea what you are feeding your birds, except in the most general of terms. That I can't help with.

Your grain mix is across the board deficient because the highest protein grains barely make the minimum crude protein levels for adult hens, and the amino acid profile is imbalanced - because there are almost not complete proteins in the plant world. The closes, and most popular, is soy - which isn't part of most "grain mixes". WIthout knowing your protein mix, I can't guess at whether it compensates for the grain deficiencies or not - or begin to guess at what vitamins you may be low on as well.

Flax (linseed) has a good AA profile and is moderately high protein, but its recommended inclusion rates are very low due to antinutritive properties. Linseed, for instance, is known to interfere with B6 uptake. Its Met levels are only moderate, not enough to compensate for much larger quantities of yoru other ingredietns. Peas are good for Lysine and Threonine, but are very low (relatively) in Met, roughly only halfway between the best and the worst of the wheats. I think you mentioned oats, you can ignore those, they aren't helping except as an energy source. Barley is tons of fiber (not great) good Lys and Thre, again low Met.

So, at a guess, you are very low on Met, the amino acid used for connective tissues and protein building, you are likely low on B6, your crude protein levels overall may be low, and your tryptophan is likely borderline. I can't guess at the other minerals and vitamins at like, ylike your source of non-plant Phoshorus.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

and again, I'm just jawboning based on what I hope I have indicated are assumptions about the content of your feed mix, the conclusions that can be drawn from known ingredient values, and what little I know of chicken behaviors (less about space constrained flocks).

The above is an opinion (a reasonable and well considered one, I hope), but not an expert diagnosis, based on the factors you've offered for consideration. Its meant to help, not to attack your method of animal keeping.

 

[BarnyardChaos]

I am feeding them commercial (?) protein supplement, but their regular feed is a mix of grain (not commercial). I have ground limestone for calcium.
As for the run, they don't go outside unless it is in the single digits for -degrees celsius (example -1,-2,-3, etc.) or the plus digits (example 1, 2, 3,4, etc.). So they are literally cooped up in their coop. But my coop has enough space for 60 chickens.

I have no reliable input about the feed, but it's possible they are crowded or bored. May we please check your numbers? How big is your coop, and how many chickens do you have?

You can add some boredom busters like shiny or brightly colored toys to peck at, plenty of obstructions to perch on or run behind, dust baths, treats like a cabbage in a hanging net bag, a pile of straw or hay to scratch through, stuff like that.

Have you checked them for mites or lice? They could be over-grooming themselves due to skin irritation.

If there's any redness, you can use Blu-Kote or something similar to coat the area. The blue color discourages other birds from pecking at it.

 

[Mrs. K]

Mostly when you start having problems, you have to change something. Which seems self evident, but generally people want to resist it. They just want the birds to be nice to each other...and they won't, unless you change it.

Things that help:
As mentioned - adequate and good quality feed. Once years ago, I was in contact with a show breeder, and I asked him what he fed his birds - expecting an exotic recipe. Nope, he went with a good commercial feed. I do too.

Not just space, but how that space is set up. A lot of places where birds can get away from each other. Roosts, platforms, mini walls can really help. Out of sight is out of mind.

Parasites - especially if tightly confined or completely confined. What do you have for dust bathing? If you got them, don't waste your time on home remedies, get the pesticides but FOLLOW the directions.

Pin - less peepers can help with over crowded birds.

And some birds just will not work in your flock, if you can identify them and remove them sometimes that will help the best.

Mrs K

 

[U_Stormcrow]

The camelina meal is a substitute for canola oil.


Hard to tell if you really need more protein.
The ingredient list is interesting but not sure how that equated into nutrient percentages.

@U_Stormcrow can you compute?

Ill have to load some of those ingredients into my spreadsheet. Will be this weekend, I'm booked till then

 

[aart]

I am feeding them commercial (?) protein supplement

Is this just protein, or does it also contain the other vitamins, minerals, amino acids that are important to good poultry health?
What are the nutrient level in the grain mix, is it a combo you made or bought?

....and as amusing as your location is it would help to know your general geographic location.

@U_Stormcrow is good with feed mixes.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

and unless I misunderstood one of your other posts, your 100 sq ft of space contains roughly 20 hens and two roosters, where they are all contained 24/7 at present. That's not enough space. You have both the feather picking and the two roos showing aggression (which, honestly, can happen when you have acres, as I do, but is more common as space becomes constrained.)