I've had chickens almost 20 years and have never had feather picking and eating problems until the ones I have now. My questions are regarding the five hens that I have together. Three are 2.5 years old and two are 1.5 years old (their babies and the victims of most of the attacks). I separated roosters from the flock at the beginning of the year, and now, without them as referees, it's resulted in the following dynamics.
Daffy - dominant hen, just missing some tail feathers, chases everyone and bites hard when she catches you, got her Masters degree in eating feathers
Billie - stealth feather snacker but laid back and hides under the radar, only recently is missing some back feathers (could be molting but suspect Daffy)
Perky - loves to fast chase and torment Duclinea and Ariel (who she hatched and raised by the way even though they are Bille's biological daughters), missing all her back feathers and many tail and wing feathers probably due to Daffy; Perky has a Ph.D. in feather dining; she will sit by Dulcie or Ariel and just eat them while they scream
Dulcinea - Dulcie is sweet but almost completely naked and underweight; she failed the abillity to initiate ramp climbing to get out of the way and just lets everyone eat her; she finally had nice feathers come in one day when I went to work and when I got home, there were just bloody holes where the feathers had been; I put her up in the loft every day where she is safe if she stays put
Ariel - high strung Ariel can use the ramps but, if she has an egg to lay, she will sit on the ground laying while Perky dines on her; missing back, tail, and wing feathers
I have built extensive ramp systems all over the pen up to a loft (shingle covered plywood area with food and water) and house for Dulcie and Ariel to get out of the way, and they eat up there. They have plenty of room, multiple nest boxes, multiple food and water stations on and off the ground.
Yesterday, I couldn't take it (the screaming of hens being feather plucked) anymore, especially with cold weather here and put pinless peepers on Daffy, Billie, and Perky even though I promised I wouldn't torture them again. I've used them before but after up to a month, as soon as they come off, the attacks resume. So, this morning, Perky is eating but Daffy and Billie are just trying to see, and they can't seem to see anything and are not eating. The pinless peepers are torture devices but at least Ariel and Dulcie aren't being attacked. It seems my choices are keep the pinless peepers on and those three hens eventually die or take them off and the other two die. I can't separate any more areas plus now there are multiple hens attacking each other so I would need five areas just for the five hens!
I changed foods earlier this year but both are 16% protein, organic feeds. I also feed fruits, vegetables, dried mealworms.
Here are my questions.
1. What % protein is needed to prevent feather eating?
2. Do you think they're eating the feathers due to diet issues or behavioral?
3. How long can I safely keep the pinless peepers on, especially if a hen does not seem to be eating or drinking?
4. How long have you kept pinless peepers on before? Did they work? My hens always revert as soon as they come off.
5. What supplements can/should I feed to reduce feather eating?
Please don't attack me and tell me I'm not "managing" my flock and not killing the offenders and so on. My chickens are my velociraptor pets and not farm animals. I don't eat them. I don't eat their eggs. I give the eggs away for free. Is it too much to ask that they don't kill each other? I think my mistake was taking the roosters out. Even though they were ripping the sides of the hens open which was also kiling them, there was never feather eating while they were with their girls. Either way, I lose, or rather, the hens lose. That's it. When these guys are gone, I'm never having chickens again. I spent $20,000 to upgrade their house and run and now I'm spending that much more per year than I make (until inheritance runs out). So, you don't need to attack me, I am the stupid one. I have a Masters degree too but, like Daffy's in feather eating, mine gets me a low paying job 24 years later. This is also my last post here because I need to stop feeding you guys to attack me. I'm not murdering any of my chickens to please you. Good bye.
Daffy - dominant hen, just missing some tail feathers, chases everyone and bites hard when she catches you, got her Masters degree in eating feathers
Billie - stealth feather snacker but laid back and hides under the radar, only recently is missing some back feathers (could be molting but suspect Daffy)
Perky - loves to fast chase and torment Duclinea and Ariel (who she hatched and raised by the way even though they are Bille's biological daughters), missing all her back feathers and many tail and wing feathers probably due to Daffy; Perky has a Ph.D. in feather dining; she will sit by Dulcie or Ariel and just eat them while they scream
Dulcinea - Dulcie is sweet but almost completely naked and underweight; she failed the abillity to initiate ramp climbing to get out of the way and just lets everyone eat her; she finally had nice feathers come in one day when I went to work and when I got home, there were just bloody holes where the feathers had been; I put her up in the loft every day where she is safe if she stays put
Ariel - high strung Ariel can use the ramps but, if she has an egg to lay, she will sit on the ground laying while Perky dines on her; missing back, tail, and wing feathers
I have built extensive ramp systems all over the pen up to a loft (shingle covered plywood area with food and water) and house for Dulcie and Ariel to get out of the way, and they eat up there. They have plenty of room, multiple nest boxes, multiple food and water stations on and off the ground.
Yesterday, I couldn't take it (the screaming of hens being feather plucked) anymore, especially with cold weather here and put pinless peepers on Daffy, Billie, and Perky even though I promised I wouldn't torture them again. I've used them before but after up to a month, as soon as they come off, the attacks resume. So, this morning, Perky is eating but Daffy and Billie are just trying to see, and they can't seem to see anything and are not eating. The pinless peepers are torture devices but at least Ariel and Dulcie aren't being attacked. It seems my choices are keep the pinless peepers on and those three hens eventually die or take them off and the other two die. I can't separate any more areas plus now there are multiple hens attacking each other so I would need five areas just for the five hens!
I changed foods earlier this year but both are 16% protein, organic feeds. I also feed fruits, vegetables, dried mealworms.
Here are my questions.
1. What % protein is needed to prevent feather eating?
2. Do you think they're eating the feathers due to diet issues or behavioral?
3. How long can I safely keep the pinless peepers on, especially if a hen does not seem to be eating or drinking?
4. How long have you kept pinless peepers on before? Did they work? My hens always revert as soon as they come off.
5. What supplements can/should I feed to reduce feather eating?
Please don't attack me and tell me I'm not "managing" my flock and not killing the offenders and so on. My chickens are my velociraptor pets and not farm animals. I don't eat them. I don't eat their eggs. I give the eggs away for free. Is it too much to ask that they don't kill each other? I think my mistake was taking the roosters out. Even though they were ripping the sides of the hens open which was also kiling them, there was never feather eating while they were with their girls. Either way, I lose, or rather, the hens lose. That's it. When these guys are gone, I'm never having chickens again. I spent $20,000 to upgrade their house and run and now I'm spending that much more per year than I make (until inheritance runs out). So, you don't need to attack me, I am the stupid one. I have a Masters degree too but, like Daffy's in feather eating, mine gets me a low paying job 24 years later. This is also my last post here because I need to stop feeding you guys to attack me. I'm not murdering any of my chickens to please you. Good bye.