Echelontheory101
Songster
Hi all,
Luckily this isn't an emergency post there's no actual injury happening just my chicks annoying my two poor olive eggers but I've noticed my two barred grey olive eggers are targets of tail feather chewing... I say chewing instead of picking because the 10 other chicks aren't pulling tail feathers out, I've checked the skin, no injuries and the olive eggers just sit there seemingly unbothered by it and dont even attempt to move away until they decide they wanna go somewhere else lol but everybody seems obsessed with chewing on just the two Olive Eggers tail feathers and no other chicks are pecking any others tail feathers, so I'm wondering since those two barred olive Eggers tails are the only targets, are they just both at the bottom of the currently forming pecking order? Or is their dark gray with kind of a raccoon tail barring with black and light colored tips, is there something about that breeds tail feathers that is attracting the others to pick at them?
Should also add they get 18% starter feed and I give them a handful of black soldier fly larvae (they have free choice grit 24/7) each morning which is super protein packed so I feel like if it was a protein deficiency causing the feather picking they wouldn't only be picking the tails and they wouldn't only be picking the tails of the only two dark grey/black colored birds they would all be picking on all of them.
Also could be stress cause theyre getting weened off heat the last 4 or so days and its down to the 40s in the brooder room but again I feel like if it was stress it wouldn't be happening to just the dark colored birds they'd all be doing it to each other.
Also if this should be in the behaivor thread instead of the chicks thread let me know and I can move it!
Thanks!
Luckily this isn't an emergency post there's no actual injury happening just my chicks annoying my two poor olive eggers but I've noticed my two barred grey olive eggers are targets of tail feather chewing... I say chewing instead of picking because the 10 other chicks aren't pulling tail feathers out, I've checked the skin, no injuries and the olive eggers just sit there seemingly unbothered by it and dont even attempt to move away until they decide they wanna go somewhere else lol but everybody seems obsessed with chewing on just the two Olive Eggers tail feathers and no other chicks are pecking any others tail feathers, so I'm wondering since those two barred olive Eggers tails are the only targets, are they just both at the bottom of the currently forming pecking order? Or is their dark gray with kind of a raccoon tail barring with black and light colored tips, is there something about that breeds tail feathers that is attracting the others to pick at them?
Should also add they get 18% starter feed and I give them a handful of black soldier fly larvae (they have free choice grit 24/7) each morning which is super protein packed so I feel like if it was a protein deficiency causing the feather picking they wouldn't only be picking the tails and they wouldn't only be picking the tails of the only two dark grey/black colored birds they would all be picking on all of them.
Also could be stress cause theyre getting weened off heat the last 4 or so days and its down to the 40s in the brooder room but again I feel like if it was stress it wouldn't be happening to just the dark colored birds they'd all be doing it to each other.
Also if this should be in the behaivor thread instead of the chicks thread let me know and I can move it!
Thanks!
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