feather plucking and now bleeding

[cugo18]

I have a few americana's in a coop and the male was plucking the feathers out of the females trying to get on them and now he is also missing feathers in the same place as the females. but now I have noticed that some of them are bleeding at the tail feathers where they are missing at. is there anything that I can do to help them out for the bleeding and to stop the plucking. plus when the male was plucking the females he was eatting the feathers once he took them from the females is that also normal? please anyone help me fast!!!! dont want to lose any from this problem.!

 

[Hambone]

get rid of the rooster

 

[threehorses]

Eating the feathers is not normal. I've heard of birds doing that for protein or fiber needs.

What are you feeding these birds (exactly... like "laying pellets and some scratch"), how old are they, are they getting granite grit yet, and are they in a coop/run or free range? How much space do they have? Is this the only male?

For bleeding, use corn starch and pressure on the bleeding. That'll stop it. Remove the rooster for now to another pen.

Depending on your feeding answer, I have some possible fixes.

You can also use VetRx on the birds to keep them from picking - but maybe not if he needs fiber/protein (which might be why he, too, is plucked- someone else might need it, too). But it'll help for now. (Thank PurpleChicken for that good VetRx advice). If you can't find chicken VetRx at the feedstore, rabbit VetRx or any other VetRx will work. If you can't find that, Marshal Pet Peter Rabbit Rx (from a big petstore) will also work.

 

[cugo18]

they are getting scratch. age 6mos old. oyster shells are being put into the coop for them. they are in a coop for protection of wondering dogs etc. but also get let out so that they can get greens and play into the dirt for a few hrs a day. coop size is 14x10 and only one male now that we know of. what else can be given for fiber and protein?

 

[Judy]

If you are feeding scratch as their routine feed, that is your problem. It is not intended as a regular feed, only a treat. It does not have enough protein, along with other nutrients. If they are mature (laying age) they need to be on layer, and you will need to supplement protein and vitamins for a while to build them back up.

There are any number of things you could do to add protein. Actually I would probably put them on a grower for a while, being sure there is plenty of oyster shell, plus a Tums in the water now and then, as grower does not have enough calcium for laying hens. Game bird feed is high protein and would make at least a good treat for a while. Most any protein source for humans is fine; canned mackerel or tuna is a good choice. Black oil sunflower seeds are high in protein. I would offer grit which will help them digest (grind up) their food.

I imagine threehorses will have additional suggestions, but this should get you started.

They should already be getting enough fiber.

 

[threehorses]

Agreed with ddawn. Scratch is made to be fed in handfuls so tha tthe birds "scratch" around to aerate their bedding and keep busy. It's never ever been intended for all of their feed. Unless you're a feed designer and know how to handle interrelationships between vitamins/minerals, protein squares, cal phos rations, fiber content, then you should be feeding 95% a complete vitamin/mineral fortified age-appropriate food.

Do that, then use scratch to entertain them. They're not receiving enough protein (scratch is about 9% - they need 16-18), they're not receiving any appreciable calcium, the phosphorus levels in scratch will suck the calcium right out of their bodies when it's laying time. Feather picking will be the least issue.

I'd agree that grower or better yet a higher protein layer (20% til you get the feather picking thing settled) is what you need. They also do need free choice oyster shell (Bioavailable calcium in case their calhos need is higher than the usual 6:1 of laying feed) AND granite grit. (Oyster shell isn't hard enough to act as grit, granite grit doesn't provide calcium - feed both mixed but in a separate container from the feed.)

Pretty much ddawn and I have the same thinking here.

 

[Judy]

Ah, I stayed signed on to see what else threehorses (a real expert) would suggest. I've never seen higher than 16% protein layer around here, which is why I thought about other feeds. Always been a bit nervous about that 16% so I look for ways to give them high protein treats, at least every few days. Guess my suspicions were right.

 

[cugo18]

thank you very much for all the advise that was given to me i will try all of it and see what happens again thanks to ddawn and threehorses for all the help will keep you informed on what happens to them. bless you all and your families human and chickens etc