Crazed Hens?

[cheeps]

I have a flock of 12 chickens of various breeds, all tame pet types. My three RIR hens are the eldest in the group at 10 or so months old. They are so mean to the rest of the girls. My two EE hens have no feathers on their butts whatsoever! And they eat the feathers they pull out. Is that normal? Is there anything I can do to settle these girls down, or is this just the way it is? I would tend to think with the pecking order if I got rid of them someone else would just take their place. Help!

 

[Chickenfortress]

Do a search on feather eating. It's a protien deficiency.

 

[cheeps]

Just googled it...but what can I do? They eat Purina laying mash and a lot of it. They get lots of scratching time in the yard too. What else can I do for them?

 

[msgenie516]

Hi,

What is the protein content of the laying mash? It should be pretty high, like around 20% or so. I am feeding my girls 21% protein laying pellets and I don't have any problems, for now, anyway. Good luck!

Genie