Feather eating

Date sort Score sort
Welcome to BYC! It's great to have you.

There are several common causes of feather picking; protein deficiency is one, but so are crowding and stress. If your flock eats a typical 16% layer ration and their diet is not more than 10-15% treats and scraps, they shouldn't really have any issues with protein. However, to increase protein, you can either switch to a 18-20% protein grower ration supplemented with oyster shell, or change most of their treats to high protein foodstuffs, like ground beef or mealworms.

As for crowding, are you sure they have enough space? It's recommended each bird has at least 10 sf run space and 4 sf coop space (though coop space rules can sometimes be bent).

Stress can cause feather picking as well, and stress itself can be caused by factors such as nearby predators, movements within the environment or flock, or changes in the pecking order.
 
Thank you for joining us at Backyard chickens.
frow.gif
 
QueenMisha said:
Welcome to BYC! It's great to have you.

There are several common causes of feather picking; protein deficiency is one, but so are crowding and stress. If your flock eats a typical 16% layer ration and their diet is not more than 10-15% treats and scraps, they shouldn't really have any issues with protein. However, to increase protein, you can either switch to a 18-20% protein grower ration supplemented with oyster shell, or change most of their treats to high protein foodstuffs, like ground beef or mealworms.

As for crowding, are you sure they have enough space? It's recommended each bird has at least 10 sf run space and 4 sf coop space (though coop space rules can sometimes be bent).

Stress can cause feather picking as well, and stress itself can be caused by factors such as nearby predators, movements within the environment or flock, or changes in the pecking order.
Click to expand...

X2 On QMs advice!
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom