Bored hens?

[aart]

So I am really concerned about our flock. Last spring we bought six golden comets which were 12 weeks old. We have a 120 sq/ft run and a 12 sq/ft hen house for them to live in, we live in town and so can not free range and thus they are always enclosed. Late last year they started pulling each others feathers, at first just a few at a time and now they are brutal. We were told it was boredom and so provided toys, perches etc. all to no avail. Now our chickens have no feathers on their butts and some are missing feathers half way up their backs. Can we do anything about this or is this now a learned behavior and do we need to start over? The egg shell quality has really dropped off as well no matter what supplements we use, please advise.

There could be a big part of your problem, way too small a coop for 6 birds

 

[skcroteau]

Thanks for the input everyone, we have concluded that all our current flock must go to the stew pot and we'll start over with just 4 hens

 

[tinakevin]

It's best to have 4 square ft per bird. Even with 4 birds you really should have 16 square ft. They may not pick at each other if you do.

 

[Mrs. K]

Why don't you reduce the flock to 3 birds, and see if things straighten out. If so, you know what fits best in your set up.

MRs K

 

[aart]

Why don't you reduce the flock to 3 birds, and see if things straighten out. If so, you know what fits best in your set up.

MRs K

Exactly what I was thinking.