Bresse Bad Behavior (Insane? Feather Picking?)

[U_Stormcrow]

Starting this thread for @hrt4desh who had complaints with their Bresse birds, here.

As I understand it, their birds came from a local breeder in SW Virginia, and have been extremely poorly behaved generally, with feather picking (till bloody) specifically through 12 weeks, and never expressed the calmness some have claimed with the breed. Feed is a mix of grasses (free range) and fermented food, and the meat quality at culling was both light weight and tough. Additionally, there were multiple cocci experiences. HRT4DESH is considering changing breeds after a pair of bad experiences.

Can we help them out here, and maybe help identify anything in the environment that may be contributing factors, so they don't have similar issues with the rangers they are considering as a next purchase?

 

[sourland]

I'd be concerned that the protein level of their feed/diet might be too low.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

and @hrt4desh If you have pictures of your set up and overall dimensions, that would help, together with flock count. I'm also curious as to the protein content of the feed you are fermenting.

Cocci is everywhere, some ground is good for it, some not - so I can't really help there with management practices to minimize the impact.

Feather picking young, my first thoughts are space constraints and low protein in the feed, particularly if the drop off in feather picking starts to fall off about the time they start free ranging - but I'm only guessing w/o more info to support/refute those theories.

 

[hrt4desh]

Thank you for your responses!! I really appreciate it!

We buy the non GMO chick starter and broiler feed from Sunrise Farms. I talked to the breeder and she said the same thing about the protein. Then when I sent her pictures of the chicks, she laughed and said I was over feeding them. About 6 weeks later she texted me and said she had the exact same thing happen to some chicks she was holding for local pickup. Her setup is WAY smaller than mine so I know space isn't an issue. I only grew out 11 birds for meat this time. Last year, we processed 5.

I had them all in a large chicken tractor. To try to help with the feather picking, I tried separating them into crates within the tractor. That didn't help. After a while, I put the 7 boys into a smallish coop with a large run. Once I separated them from the girls, everything seemed to calm down some except for one girl who constantly got feather picked. I even put blue on them to get them to stop. Some of them were doing it to themselves.

The breeder mentioned the red light, so I've looked into a different color or source of heat. Last year, we had a white light on them and they didn't feather pick. But the light exploded twice inside the tractor, which was terrifying.

But I've never had a calm Bresse. The three I have in the chicken pen right now are as crazy as the others. I just leave them alone.

Thanks again for the help!

If I can get pictures, I definitely will.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Sunrise Farms non-GMO Chick Starter Definitely not a lack of protein at 22%. Its VERY high fat compared to most, but doesn't sound like you are keeping them for "the long haul", rather a vacation in the chill chest. and if you are fermenting, you aren't having issues with the powdery vitamin supplement not getting eaten, while the grains get all the attention.

Honest, I've got nothing, that shoots down my first theory pretty cleanly.

As to light bulbs, I've gone to a heat plate, except in the very coldest conditions, when I'll use a plate for the just hatched and a black ceramic bulb for the three weeks+ in the barn.

Looking forward to the pics, and the dimensions.

 

[hrt4desh]

Our initial coop is 2'8" x 5'8". I hang a heat lamp at the back on the roosting bars along with hay on the ground to keep them dry and warm.

The next coop I have for when they get bigger is a chicken tractor that's 4'6" x 10' 4". Again, I hang a lamp or two in the back from the cattle panel and put hay down to help keep them dry. There's a very short roosting bar in the back that gives them some place to go, should they choose. The last four Bresse hens I had in here would literally lay on top of each other in the back until the day they were processed.

 

[hrt4desh]

Last year, we had the birds in the summer to early winter. So heat wasn't an issue, although I kept a lamp on them for as long as necessary.

This year, the weather was colder longer. I kept the heat lamp on for entire days at a time, especially considering they were pretty featherless for a very long time.

 

[hrt4desh]

Here's a picture of them at their worst.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

The space they are being kept in is quite small. I know there are management practices that keep birds in even less space, but they are so foreign to my experience I am completely out of my element. Honestly, my grow out pen is larger than your chicken tractor (by a few inches), and that without counting its attached run.

My suspicion has to turn to the idea that the behavior isn't dietary (that's good feed), but rather boredom or dominance/pecking order issues in a constrained space - but entirely a guess, I don't have experience with large birds in small spaces.

 

[hrt4desh]

Sunrise Farms non-GMO Chick Starter Definitely not a lack of protein at 22%. Its VERY high fat compared to most, but doesn't sound like you are keeping them for "the long haul", rather a vacation in the chill chest. and if you are fermenting, you aren't having issues with the powdery vitamin supplement not getting eaten, while the grains get all the attention.

Honest, I've got nothing, that shoots down my first theory pretty cleanly.

As to light bulbs, I've gone to a heat plate, except in the very coldest conditions, when I'll use a plate for the just hatched and a black ceramic bulb for the three weeks+ in the barn.

Looking forward to the pics, and the dimensions.

The space they are being kept in is quite small. I know there are management practices that keep birds in even less space, but they are so foreign to my experience I am completely out of my element. Honestly, my grow out pen is larger than your chicken tractor (by a few inches), and that without counting its attached run.

My suspicion has to turn to the idea that the behavior isn't dietary (that's good feed), but rather boredom or dominance/pecking order issues in a constrained space - but entirely a guess, I don't have experience with large birds in small spaces.

I understand what you're saying. The smaller coop is for when they're a few weeks old. I guess I'm just going on what others use to raise meat birds. I've seen tractors packed with birds, so I'm just not sure that it's a space issue.

I'll take your comments into consideration.

Thanks for your help!