Does anybody really know?

[Sassafras]

No feathers in your coop?? Wow, I have a lot I of feathers in the coop I think. The pullets don't look like they are missing any but there is plenty on the ground.
I would guess that if they are eating that many feathers they are missing something in their diet. What type of layer feed are they getting? I would call your feed company and see what the say. Have they had any other queries? I remember an instance where a lot of birds in the area were getting sick. It was eventually was found out that an essential element was not being added to the feed production. I am not saying that is the case but there has to be a reason for it.

 

[7L Farm]

Quote:
I hate to get rid of them they lay alot of big brown eggs. I've gone through so much with them I'm not sure if I could kill them I know I couldn't. I'm bad about getting attached to animals. My neighbor who's been a farmer his whole life tells me that I shouldn't have livestock because of how I get so attached. I got another flock now & yup I'm getting attached to them as well. I have quail as well but I have no problem ripping their heads off . Guess, chickens have a personality.

 

[7L Farm]

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They get 17 % laying pellets & some veggies from my garden. I also give them hard boiled crushed up quail eggs twice a week. They free range everyday. Clean fresh water everyday. I live hear on the farm I'm hear everyday so I'm always tending to everything. No critters are without food or water & its always fresh. It's just a habit. I'm just trying to find someone that knows how to break the habit.

 

[jasonm11]

Quote:
I hate to get rid of them they lay alot of big brown eggs. I've gone through so much with them I'm not sure if I could kill them I know I couldn't. I'm bad about getting attached to animals. My neighbor who's been a farmer his whole life tells me that I shouldn't have livestock because of how I get so attached. I got another flock now & yup I'm getting attached to them as well. I have quail as well but I have no problem ripping their heads off . Guess, chickens have a personality.

just remember you are the flocks protector and if the flock is having issues such as they are it is better to process the birds. I am the same in getting attached but you have to realize that you are the only protection they have and if you have a second flock building you want to protect them from what ever afflicted the 1st flock.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Is it all of them picking and eating feathers or just one or two? If you can identify a ringleader, maybe isolate her for a while to try to break her of the habit.

It is not all that unusual for them to eat those small feathers flying around when they molt. It does not mean anything is wrong, just that they have something else to eat. But picking feathers like that is not good. It can lead to something worse.

The only even close experience I've had was a hen that was picking the feathers off a rooster's neck, leaving a bare red spot. I isolated him for two days and she stopped. The feathers did not grow back in that time but the redness went away.

If it is the way you have described it, I think it is a habit they are into. Not that something is wrong with their care, just a bad habit if they are actually picking feathers off each other. I really don't know a good solution.

 

[larkflying]

Poor chickens, they sound miserable. Can you put out a deep pan with sand and DE to help them get a good dust bath going? Maybe try changing feed brands? I've heard that red lights help them not to pick on bloody spots, and they even sold red contact lenses for battery hens, but I can't imagine putting them in. I think that debeaking is probably only for chicks, plus I've always hated the thought anyway. I'm sure that this isn't helping much, but I can't think of anything else . . .

I know my chicken books say that once the habit starts that it is hard to make it stop. Mine usually molt in the late summer / early fall -- if they aren't bleeding maybe if you wait until then there will be some improvement after everyone's new feathers come in? Or if you have a couple small cages, you could isolate the most picked ones / as many as possible and maybe that would help remove it from the other's minds . . .

I'd agree with finding a different space for the new chickens -- don't want them to pick up the habit or whatever else it is . . .

 

[7L Farm]

Quote:
Your right its a habit. I added a rescued Dominique probably 4 months ago they do not pick her feathers. I got some hen aprons & put them on a few of the girls because their backs were getting pecked left them on for a few months & finally took them off because of the heat. The pecked areas looked the same as the day I put the apron on. No feathers had grown back nothing.

 

[7L Farm]

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I am worried about my new flock but I usually only let them out in the afternoon. They do see the other flock but they don't hang out together. They have a separate coop.

 

[columbiacritter]

Have you tried puttign peepers on them?

 

[7L Farm]

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O yea those Houdini's figured that gimmick out. I even let them free range with peepers on. They learned how to catch bugs with peepers on. I've got every gimmick they provide I think. But keep giving me more suggestion cause you never know. Thanks the feather less chicken guy.