shoffman99
Hatching
- Apr 14, 2021
- 1
- 1
- 6
Hello all,
Hoping someone can help me with my flock’s feather issue. We have five laying hens of all different cold hardy varieties (we live in upstate NY where one day it is 70 and the next it is snowing - really, this is our weather forecast for today and tomorrow). All five hens exhibit broken feathers exposing the fluffy down underneath. Please see the example of Cooper, our Wellsummer. She was just in the dirt bath hence the detritus on her rump. We don’t see any skin irritation and they have access to a dust bath. Shavings in the coop and ample sized covered run are changed regularly.
I’m wondering if our well water is the culprit. It smells of sulfur. Our house drinking water runs through a water softener and UV filter but the chicken water is straight from the well, prior to any treatment.
They eat a “hearty hen” feed high in protein. Clean water is provided every morning along with a bit of scratch scattered throughout their run to keep them occupied during the day. When we are home they have a fenced in pasture (must keep an eye out for bald eagles).
We also have a Speckled Sussex Allie that repeatedly picks at her wing feathers where they attach to her body. This time she’s exposed meat that then entices Bindy, our super bossy Silver Laced Wyandotte, to peck.
Any advice would be welcomed! We love our nutty little flock and only want the best for them! Full disclosure - our nephews named the chickens.
Cheers and thank you!
Hoping someone can help me with my flock’s feather issue. We have five laying hens of all different cold hardy varieties (we live in upstate NY where one day it is 70 and the next it is snowing - really, this is our weather forecast for today and tomorrow). All five hens exhibit broken feathers exposing the fluffy down underneath. Please see the example of Cooper, our Wellsummer. She was just in the dirt bath hence the detritus on her rump. We don’t see any skin irritation and they have access to a dust bath. Shavings in the coop and ample sized covered run are changed regularly.
I’m wondering if our well water is the culprit. It smells of sulfur. Our house drinking water runs through a water softener and UV filter but the chicken water is straight from the well, prior to any treatment.
They eat a “hearty hen” feed high in protein. Clean water is provided every morning along with a bit of scratch scattered throughout their run to keep them occupied during the day. When we are home they have a fenced in pasture (must keep an eye out for bald eagles).
We also have a Speckled Sussex Allie that repeatedly picks at her wing feathers where they attach to her body. This time she’s exposed meat that then entices Bindy, our super bossy Silver Laced Wyandotte, to peck.
Any advice would be welcomed! We love our nutty little flock and only want the best for them! Full disclosure - our nephews named the chickens.
Cheers and thank you!
It looks like feather pecking/plucking probably caused by close confinement and winter boredom.
