Chickens won't stop swallowing feathers off of the floor, why are they doing this?

[Bird is the word]

My friend recently added 4 chickens to my coop but everytime they see a feather on the ground the eat it and I can't stop them, do they think the feathers are worms or caterpillar or they are eating them for a specific reason? Can this hurt the chickens if they keep eating them what should I do?

 

[artbykarenehaley]

Hello! Welcome to BYC!
Chickens are moulting right now in my neck of the woods. It's likely they are moulting where you are too.
This means they are growing new feathers, which requires a lot of protein.
Feathers are a source of protein but not a very good one, as they can cause an impacted crop.

Try feeding a higher protein percentage feed, it will help them grow new feathers and may help them crave protein less.

 

[Bird is the word]

Hello! Welcome to BYC!
Chickens are moulting right now in my neck of the woods. It's likely they are moulting where you are too.
This means they are growing new feathers, which requires a lot of protein.
Feathers are a source of protein but not a very good one, as they can cause an impacted crop.

Try feeding a higher protein percentage feed, it will help them grow new feathers and may help them crave protein less.

Does it make a difference if they are still pullets ?

 

[artbykarenehaley]

Does it make a difference if they are still pullets ?

How old are they? My pullets from March are going through their first molt.

 

[Bird is the word]

How old are they? My pullets from March are going through their first molt.

Well they are several different ages one of them is 6 months two of them are 4 months but the last one is 3 months but all of them are eating feathers

 

[artbykarenehaley]

Well they are several different ages one of them is 6 months two of them are 4 months but the last one is 3 months but all of them are eating feathers

What amount of protein is in their diet? If they're on layer feed, there's only 16% protein. Because some of them are young it might be good for them to have a bit more protein.
I have a mixed age flock so I feed flock raiser which has 20% protein.

If their feed has a higher protein percentage, it might come down to a formed habit. Young pullets are so curious, they may have just seen one of their flock mates eat a feather and thought must be good eatin', Sharon just chowed down on one."

 

[Bird is the word]

What amount of protein is in their diet? If they're on layer feed, there's only 16% protein. Because some of them are young it might be good for them to have a bit more protein.
I have a mixed age flock so I feed flock raiser which has 20% protein.

If their feed has a higher protein percentage, it might come down to a formed habit. Young pullets are so curious, they may have just seen one of their flock mates eat a feather and thought must be good eatin', Sharon just chowed down on one."

 

[Bird is the word]

Ok thank you

 

[artbykarenehaley]

Forgot to offer a solution if it's a habit. Here's how id fix the issue.

-If feed has enough protein and they're still munching feathers, I'd take them out of their normal enclosure and rake feathers out.

-Then put down new bedding.

-Then I'd hide some apples or corncobs to give them something else to be curious about haha

-Then put the pullets back in.

-Check for loose feathers every day. You can't monitor it 100% of the time unfortunately, you never know when someone's going to drop a feather and when someone else is going to pick it up. However if you're able to clean out the feathers often enough and offer alternative things for them to pick up, they'll eat a lot less feathers.

The way my coop is set up, it's easy to change bedding. I'm aware it might not be the case for everyone.

I'm sure a chicken tractor (moveable coop) would be the easiest fix but only if you already have one and can actually move it to a new place every day.

 

[Bird is the word]

Forgot to offer a solution if it's a habit. Here's how id fix the issue.

-If feed has enough protein and they're still munching feathers, I'd take them out of their normal enclosure and rake feathers out.

-Then put down new bedding.

-Then I'd hide some apples or corncobs to give them something else to be curious about haha

-Then put the pullets back in.

-Check for loose feathers every day. You can't monitor it 100% of the time unfortunately, you never know when someone's going to drop a feather and when someone else is going to pick it up. However if you're able to clean out the feathers often enough and offer alternative things for them to pick up, they'll eat a lot less feathers.

The way my coop is set up, it's easy to change bedding. I'm aware it might not be the case for everyone.

I'm sure a chicken tractor (moveable coop) would be the easiest fix but only if you already have one and can actually move it to a new place every day.

Ok I will upgrade their feed and I already try to collect the feathers when I see them because I sure them for crafts but I will see what happens