Blood from Feather Pecking

[ParkerGirls]

Hello. My chicks are about two weeks old. We have a mix of speckled Sussex and salmon Favorelles. The Sussex chicks are pecking the feathers off the feet of the Favorelles, to the point of bleeding. My Favorelles had lots of foot feathers, and now two are completely naked. What can I do to prevent this? Fix it?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

A few questions.
What are they being fed (protein % and treats)?
How much space do they have per bird (sq. ft.)?
What are you using for a heat source?
The color and duration of lighting.?

 

[ParkerGirls]

A few questions.
What are they being fed (protein % and treats)?
How much space do they have per bird (sq. ft.)?
What are you using for a heat source?
The color and duration of lighting.?

We feed them an organic chick starter. I’m not sure of the protein %. I’ll have to look at the bag. We currently haven’t been giving them treats. Should we?

There’s about 2.5 square feet per bird.

There is no heat source anymore because our chicks were not happy with anything above 90. Always panting. We had to keep turning the lamp off because they were happier with temps around 80 or below. Because of this we decided to move them to their coop since our temperature highs and lows have been within a good range. We don’t let them in the run yet.

So, their length of lighting is as long as the sun shines.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

That is all good. I was just considering some of the possible causes. (i.e. low protein, crowding, stress from 24/7 light, etc.)
They don't need treats. The starter feed is probably either 18 to 20%. Anywhere in that range is OK.
It is good that they are weaned off of the heat too.
Dawn to dusk lighting is fine as well.
By 8 weeks they'll need more space.
The only suggestions I have are to give them some diversions like things to climb on and run around. You also could try a high protein treat like some canned fish or mealworms.
My logic is that feathers are 93% protein and if the feather picking started as boredom or aggression, they liked eating them and continued.
Blue light is calming to chickens so if you do turn on a light maybe something to consider.