bullies and feather picking need help very soon, hens going down hill

[rhodered10]

thanks i do use flock blocks and that does seem to help a little but they still bully, with the flock block taken away they start picking at each other non stop so i just try to keep one in their coop at all times plus they love it and they smell pretty good. i am worried if some of my hens aren't getting enough to eat or nutrition because of the bullies. i have noticed some eggs lately that have very thin shells and i am guessing they are coming from the girls getting bullied because they have things like oyster shells in their coop and in their scratch grains and i know that when some girls try to eat another will force them away. so does anyone know of any good supplements or anything that could help some of my girls get the proper nutrition that they need??

 

[schellie69]

I feed a 22% protein game bird feed with crushed egg shells on the side. I would take away the scratch to make sure they are eating the feed. When I switched to a higher protein diet the feather pecking stopped. Good luck.

 

[rhodered10]

ok thanks i will see if i can find a higher protein feed at tsc

 

[rhodered10]

would a flock raiser feed be ok? it was the best i could find at tsc it has about 20%protein (the protein in my chickens current feed is only 16%) if not could you please tell me the name of the brand you use for your chickens

 

[schellie69]

The feed you got should be okay, I would cut the scratch down for a while to make sure they are eating more of the flock raiser and just offer oyster shell or crushed egg shells for the calcium.

 

[rhodered10]

wow! the day i started changing their feed they were eating like crazy! i am switching them to a flock raiser feed with a good poultry supplement i found at tsp and some oyster shell on the side with just some BOSS as scratch now and boy are eating a lot more!!!! i hope thats a good sign because i have noticed my girls have just been looking worse and their egg shells were getting pretty thin. i think it might be working but i suppose time will tell, wish me luck!!

 

[rhodered10]

they are getting better!!!! last night when i went out to put them all inside for night i saw little feathers growing on all of them were there were bare patches and also laying and eating has greatly increased and improved they all seem very happy now!!!