Eating stray feathers?

[Norman]

Every once and a while one of my pullets(14weeks) will pick up a feather from among the shavings and bedding and eat it! Is this normal? THey're on layer ration and have fruit and veggies as treats throughout the day.

 

[MissPrissy]

It is a source of protein. If you notice feather picking and feather eating alot it is an indication they need higher protein feed.

 

[Norman]

So should I be feeding a type of suppliment as well as the layer?
The pullet I see doing it came from a place where the owner doesn't feed ready-mixed prosessed feeds, he only fed a scratch-type mixture of different grains(in addition to free-ranging them). I've only had her for 2 days, so could she be suffering from a protein deficiency from her old place that will right itself now that she is on a balanced feed?

 

[Heather J]

Ahh, that makes so much sense. I hadn't realized why my chickens kept eating feathers last winter, i just figured it was something chickens do--they were on scratch full time and there were no bugs at that time of year. I haven't seen any of this behavior in the past few weeks since my girls all went on layer/chick feed. they also get my free-range time and the grasshoppers are plentiful!

 

[Linda in San Diego]

Cracks me up when I see one eat a feather! It does not happen very often, but when I first saw that, I tried to figure out if they didi not see/recognize what they were trying to eat. LOL

 

[All about the EGG]

I see a lot of birds gathering them for their nests.