Easter Egger Sexing "tips and tricks" *Pictures Included*

[junebuggena]

1 of my EEs and 3 of my brown leghorns are getting bullied I think! I have a flock of 10! All injuries are on lower back as pictured! This poor girl is in the worst shape! Is it bullying? What should I do?

How big is your coop/run setup? Any very large breeds or bantam breeds? What are you feeding? Sorry for the questions, but needed to figure out how to help.

 

[akwood14]

How big is your coop/run setup? Any very large breeds or bantam breeds? What are you feeding? Sorry for the questions, but needed to figure out how to help.

my run is ~300 square feet and my coop is ~100 square feet.
Purina Layena plus with omega 3 is what I feed my girls. I have 4 EEs 3 barred rocks and 3 brown leghorns. No bantam breeds. Thanks for your help!

 

[debid]

my run is ~300 square feet and my coop is ~100 square feet.
Purina Layena plus with omega 3 is what I feed my girls. I have 4 EEs 3 barred rocks and 3 brown leghorns. No bantam breeds. Thanks for your help!

Do you have a rooster?

 

[akwood14]

Do you have a rooster?

I do not!!

 

[debid]

I do not!!

I don't think there is much chance of guessing what is going on. You're going to need a pull up a chair and observe. It could be that you have one with cannibal tendencies pulling and eating feathers.

I'd also try giving supplemental animal protein. If nothing else, it will give extra energy to regrow feathers.

 

[akwood14]

I don't think there is much chance of guessing what is going on. You're going to need a pull up a chair and observe. It could be that you have one with cannibal tendencies pulling and eating feathers.

I'd also try giving supplemental animal protein. If nothing else, it will give extra energy to regrow feathers.

Thank you! What would you suggest for a supplemental animal protein? Also, I have never noticed the pecking when they are out in the run. Could it be their sleeping arrangement in the coop? They all practically pile on top of one another to sleep.

 

[debid]

Thank you! What would you suggest for a supplemental animal protein? Also, I have never noticed the pecking when they are out in the run. Could it be their sleeping arrangement in the coop? They all practically pile on top of one another to sleep.

Cat food is very high in animal protein so it doesn't take much. Lots of folks use it as a molting supplement.

I have only seen this on a single chicken before and it wasn't mine so my knowledge is incomplete. However, what I do know is that it was the lowest one in the order being plucked and there were multiple hens pulling feathers from her lower back when she'd submit. The problem was solved by reducing the low protein "treats" that were being too liberally offered and giving them a little cat food for a treat instead. This is why cat food was the first thing that came to mind.

 

[akwood14]

Cat food is very high in animal protein so it doesn't take much. Lots of folks use it as a molting supplement.

I have only seen this on a single chicken before and it wasn't mine so my knowledge is incomplete. However, what I do know is that it was the lowest one in the order being plucked and there were multiple hens pulling feathers from her lower back when she'd submit. The problem was solved by reducing the low protein "treats" that were being too liberally offered and giving them a little cat food for a treat instead. This is why cat food was the first thing that came to mind.

Great! This is very helpful! Thanks so much! Cat food it is!

 

[MidMaineChick]

Here are my 6 EEs. 4 pullets, 2 roos.

They were about 7 weeks in this picture. On the top left is a cockerel. See his red/dark red spots on the wings?You can see that the bottom bird, a pullet, has the red/orange color but it's in an even pattern and not isolated to her wings.
The other cockerel is third from the bottom. Again, with red coloring but especially darker red wing spots. Hope this helps someone!

 

[~KH~]

I have actually spent the last 6 weeks scrolling through all 1269 pages of this thread lol as my EEs got older. I decided to just wait to even post pics and ask, but they are now 6 weeks old today. I started another thread since I have a few other chicks I was asking about, but pics are here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/any-of-these-look-like-possible-roos.1196937/