Bored chickens

[Breeann1221]

Any suggestions tohelp my chickens from getting bored? They have plenty of space outdoors and indoors to run but a couple of them are picking at their feathers like they might be bored.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Any suggestions tohelp my chickens from getting bored? They have plenty of space outdoors and indoors to run but a couple of them are picking at their feathers like they might be bored.

If they have plenty of room they should spend all day scratching and foraging. What do you consider plenty of space?

 

[Breeann1221]

If they have plenty of room they should spend all day scratching and foraging. What do you consider plenty of space?

They have about a 10x25 coop and a bit more for outdoor space. We want to have semi free range chickens just haven't got there yet. But 2 of my chickens rarely leave the coop basically only if I'm there and those are the ones picking at their feathers. My other chickens are just fine and spend the majority of the day out picking at the grass. I'm sure they'll transition eventually. I just kinda want to get them to stop picking at their feathers for now.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Have you checked them for mites and lice? Could be they need a dusting. How old are they?

 

[Breeann1221]

Have you checked them for mites and lice? Could be they need a dusting. How old are they?

We just got them March 18th. This is my first time having chickens so what do mites and lice look like? And what do I do if I find them?

 

[cmom]

Some are very hard to see and some only come out at night.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

We just got them March 18th. This is my first time having chickens so what do mites and lice look like? And what do I do if I find them?

So they are still young? Lice will be small white clusters at the base of feathers. I generally don't see those too often. Mites are tiny dark dots that move quickly through the feathers when you part the feathers to the skin. You also will see them crawling around their faces often. Chickens control them by dust bathing. You can treat chickens with a pyrethrin based poultry dust or spray if necessary. Young birds go through multiple molts so they will sometimes preen more.

 

[Breeann1221]

So they are still young? Lice will be small white clusters at the base of feathers. I generally don't see those too often. Mites are tiny dark dots that move quickly through the feathers when you part the feathers to the skin. You also will see them crawling around their faces often. Chickens control them by dust bathing. You can treat chickens with a pyrethrin based poultry dust or spray if necessary. Young birds go through multiple molts so they will sometimes preen more.

Yea, they are young. Would a molt make them stay in the coop?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Yea, they are young. Would a molt make them stay in the coop?

Often they stay in the coop because they are being harassed or bullied by other flock members. Have you watched what happens when you put them out?

 

[Breeann1221]

Often they stay in the coop because they are being harassed or bullied by other flock members. Have you watched what happens when you put them out?

I could see that with one of them. She's on the smaller side, but the other one is a rooster and he's far bigger than the rest of the hens.