Feathers all over!

lleeme

Chirping
Apr 21, 2022
97
148
91
Water Valley, MS
I started with 6 chicks, but since I wanted eggs sooner I got 3 hens and a rooster. I managed integrating them fine when the girls got old enough. The girls come when I call etc. I still feed them chick starter in a kennel inside the coop. They will take feed and treats feom my hand and I do this because they will be chased away by the others. The other day I did both feed and treats and when I went out to put them away there were feathers everywhere! Is this jealousy? I have done less hand feeding since then and there has not been a recurrence.
 
Some people think chickens get jealous of one or another and will "punish" the chicken they are jealous of. However, envy is a human emotion, not a chicken one.

Chickens do have personality conflicts, and they will take advantage of a chicken being given attention while being held and attack it because the chicken is being immobilized - a crime of convenience, so to speak.

If you are feeding a selected individual chicken, competition comes into play, and the others will join in trying to liberate a treat given to the chicken. Feathers can fly in a conflict.

There isn't just one reason for feathers being lost. Molt is the most common, feather picking, a neurotic behavior, is another, two chickens may fight over pecking order rank, and sudden panic when a predator approaches can result in feathers flying.
 

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