Chickens eating long feathers

[AmyMurphy]

Our chicks are 2 1/2 months now and pretty big - look like reg chickens. I noticed that when one loses a feather, the other ones go CRAZY trying to steal it and get it, any way they can. The one who has it is trying to eat it. Why do they do that? It makes me nervous bc the feathers are so long when you include the stem part. We can tell that is what is going on so we try and catch them or make them drop it. So, is that normal chicken behavior and if they do swallow one, is it harmful?

 

[JJSS89]

Hmm. Weird.

When chickens peck at one another's tails it can be because they aren't getting enough protein. Try feeding them some scrambled eggs once in a while or some ground lean meat (unsalted)

They could just be bored in general and need more things in which to be interested. Getting a bale of hay or straw and cutting the twine so they can kick it apart for a few weeks is a good way to mix it up during the dull winter months.