- Apr 8, 2013
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I did want to say that parasites like tapeworm wouldn't affect the whole flock. They get tapeworm from insects, and not every bug will be a carrier. The other chickens can even eat the tapeworm segments from the poo, and still won't get tapeworm that way. So yeah, it's possible to have one badly infected chicken, and the rest are a-okay.That makes sense that they would be naturally thinner and I'm sure they could use more food. I'll try to separate them to see if I can get the Buffs more food, maybe let them eat first. They are definitely not as high in the pecking order. It's funny I have 4 barred rocks. They are not intimidated at all by the bigger birds. They peck right back and keep on eating.
But you probably don't have that problem. At 5-6 months they still aren't full grown, and if they are getting chased from the food...it's a good plan to give them a chance to eat without the others.
I've been putting little stashes of food here and there for the chickens on the low end of the pecking order. They can eat in peace for a bit, and if they get chased away, they can just go to the next stash of food.