Crazy chickens

[DeniseWatson]

We have 23 chickens and absolutely love them all. Quite a few of them are looking a little scroungy. I have attached a picture in hopes that someone will know what is going on. We don't have a rooster. We did treat them for coccidious and worms but they still look a little haggered. They have tons of room and a huge chicken tractor/run so they are free range (sort of) - they have a big run. Thanks in advance for your help with our babies!!

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

Welcome to our FUNomenal Flock!

Pull up a roost & enjoy your time here!
Have you checked for mites???

 

[MeowthLover_ThatsRight]

 

[DeniseWatson]

Welcome to our FUNomenal Flock!

Pull up a roost & enjoy your time here!
Have you checked for mites???

We have treated for mites just in case and have D.Earth in their dust bath.

 

[sourland]

Hello, and welcome to BYC. Looks like feather pecking/plucking to me.

 

[DobieLover]

Hello, Denise, and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.
How big is "a ton of room"? What are you feeding them?

 

[DeniseWatson]

Hello, and welcome to BYC. Looks like feather pecking/plucking to me.

Thanks. I think we'll put a camera in the coop to see what they are up to. At the very least, we should get some entertainment from the videos.

 

[DeniseWatson]

Hello, Denise, and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.
How big is "a ton of room"? What are you feeding them?

Thanks. We are feeding them layer feed and some scratch and bread as treats. Here is a pic of the chicken tractor/run. It's big enough to house 30 chickens and we have 23.

 

[Acre4Me]

Nice setup!
Looks like they can get under the coop too?

feathers are mostly protein, and they might be eating the feathers they pick.

stop the scratch and treats. Give them only their feed. If possible get a higher protein feed -either a different layer that is higher protein or an all-flock feed. Layer feed tends to be 16% protein, a minimum required by the birds. So, scratch dilutes their protein intake, so does bread.

put in some visual disruptions if possible and some roosts if possible in the larger run area. A visual disruption will allow the birds to get out of sight of one another, but still escape any bullying. So, a roost helps here or a board propped up against a wall (but not in a corner) where they can enter/leave from both sides.

of nothing else help, “pinless peepers” are said to be very helpful, but I’ve never used them, so don’t have pics or advice on them.

 

[CluckerFamily]

Welcome to BYC!!