Feather pecking

[Ebony Rose]

Your feed is already low on protein, and adding the mountain of veggies is bringing the protein level down further. Need to stop feeding the treats unless the treat itself is increasing their protein intake. Ask your feed store if they offer game bird feed / quail feed; it's typically 20% protein or higher. Keep treating them with cooked egg (91% protein) , don't go crazy with mealworms as they are high in fat too (even though a few won't hurt, they've got 51% protein), and fat hens causes ~other~ problems. Fish or fish meal is 61-72% protein, I offer canned sardines in water if my girls are heavy, or packed in olive or sunflower oil if they're on the skinny side, and I mix it with their normal feed so they don't fill up on fish and not get their feed. Ground up dry cat food is typically 26-30% protein, only do a little bit, as it's high in fat too. Hope this gives you some ideas on boosting protein without ruining your girls' diets.

 

[50-45-1]

FYI your feather picker will be the beatiful one with no missing feathers.
They dont pick themself.

 

[Jlgonzo]

@Tycine1 how often would you feed the eggs and sardines?

I did feed them tuna once in the past that they liked.

My chickens are of normal size maybe some are a little thin but maybe that is the missing feathers. I have 4 missing feathers and 4 that look perfect, so I know one or more of those are the culprits just trying to figure out which ones.

 

[Ebony Rose]

@Jlgonzo I'd mix in a different treat daily (keeping in mind that it MUST contain additional protein and must not be over 10% of their overall diet). 2x a week on the ground up cat foot, 2x a week on sardines, 3x week on the hardboiled eggs sounds reasonable until you can get some game bird feed or quail feed or better yet, a higher quality (protein content) chicken feed. Again, caution on the cat food as it's high in fat, and consider oil packed sardines vs water packed depending on the weight of your girls (you'll be dumping the liquid and all into the normal feed to make a 'mash'). You're looking for feed that's 18-20% for everyday use, and in your current situation; 22-24% would be better for those poor poor feathers. If you have non-layers in your flock, then do not use layer feed; instead use either NON-MEDICATED chick starter (the medicated variety blocks absorption of some vitamins) , or flock grower and serve calcium (oyster shell) on the side. At the risk of lowering the overall protein, you may consider cooking up some peas (taste better cooked, can be served raw) and rice (served raw or cooked). This rice & peas TREAT, is specifically to supplement their lysine and methionine amino acids (found in proteins, and especially good for building / rebuilding feathers). Peas are considered a whole protein because they contain all of the essential amino acids, but overall their protein level is only 5%, so keep in mind that serving this will bring down their overall protein level, but will specifically target those essential amino acids; weigh the benefits.

 

[Jlgonzo]

@50-45-1 We put blinders on two in the past that were bullying one to the point of blood being drawn. It seemed to work well. We just put blinders on one from the past and the other Leghorn as I witnessed a little bad behavior. The second one with the blinder never had it before but I noticed two days later that the back part of her floppy comb was turning purple, so we removed the blinder and the purple went away. We read that the purple color can be a lack of oxygen. She acted normal but I was not comfortable leaving it on her. Have you ever had any issues with that?
I also witnessed another one fully into picking feathers off of specific chickens that were dust bathing. We tried to put a blinder on her earlier but failed to get it on her. We will try again later.

 

[Jlgonzo]

@Tycine1 what type of peas should I cook? Green peas or can we buy frozen green peas and thaw them?

 

[Ebony Rose]

I've served peas that are dry (from the dry-bean aisle at grocery) both cooked and uncooked, frozen, and canned. Many will say canned isn't good for them due to the salt content, but since we're not looking at a steady diet of nothing but canned peas... I'd not worry too much about that. The frozen peas can be served FROZEN too; especially on hot days They're cooked before they freeze them, so the bitterness will be gone already too. An excellent compromise!