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240 sq ft is good. That's 30 sq. ft/bird - - better than most.
I consider the minimum for chickens confined outside 87 sq ft. But 240 ' for 8, well... that aint bad.
Chickens, on the other hand, are merciless to one another. This is widely known, even if we persist in calling them "babies." They squabble and fight and peck at each incessantly. They can turn cannibalistic, too, under even ideal circumstances. As I like to say, "The Chickens World Is A Savage Place."
It normally takes stressors to bring out such things, but few of our yard birds have the selective pedigree which guarantees bad traits do not exist in their genes.
There aren't many here who would cull an aggressive feather picker, for example. We would insist it was anti-social and try to "work with it," putting it in "time out" or try some other
human psychological remedy. However, if it IS an aggressive bird from similar parent stock, an entire line of such bothersome birds could have been bred on - and we would be none the wiser.
Low protein MAY result in feather picking. I'm not saying it cannot. It is certainly true that hungry birds will be aggressive and stressed and most certainly pick at one another. Call it "cravings" - that works for me. But if we are feeding a proper ration, or a diet based on sound nutrition, it is unlikely they ARE deficient.
Frankly, I'm not convinced that chickens know what to eat to remedy dietary deficiencies. They tend to eat or try to eat, anything and everything, all the time.
I'm concerned, mostly, that we may confuse the many anecdotal ideas we hear for actual fact. If you can find a definitive study supporting extra protein as a solution to the feather picking habit, I'd sincerely enjoy seeing it. It may, indeed, be out there.
Ahhh diplomacy... I love it!
Well put. I wish more people could answer questions and debate that way.
