Given chickens that are all pecked up. Can they be slaughtered and eaten?

[Colorfulegg]

I was given 16 chickens yesterday. All but one chicken has had it's back, backside, or neck all pecked up and missing feathers. The owners got new laying hens and has asked if I wanted the old ones for their meat. The problem is I am not sure if they are safe to eat, seeing that they have been pecked up and probably have broken skin. What if they have a pecking problem because they did not get feed enough protein? I feel stuck with these birds not knowing if I should slaughter them and do away with them, or if it is safe to slaughter and eat them? I have the flock separated from my other birds. Please help me with my decision.

 

[BeetleChick]

I'm not sure on the slaughter question, I had one chicken pecked naked from the neck down after about 2 months she grew all her feathers back and 5 months later you would never know what happened to her. She is 3 years old and lays an egg almost every day.

 

[Colorfulegg]

Thank you for your reply. I am keeping one and getting rid of the other ones at a farm who will take them. The one I am keeping is the only one not all pecked up. I can not stand the look of the other ones and do not want to keep them around to even to slaughter them. I will quarantine this hen for awhile then slowly expose her to my flock. I hope she still lays and does not have a pecking problem herself. I had a rough morning as they kept on escaping the temporary home I gave them. First we had to catch 12, and they a few hours later I had to re-catch 8 of them. It was a lot of work as I am 8 months pregnant. They are all in boxes now ready to transport to the farm, except the one we are keeping. Never again will I take someones "older" hens. I will just raise and deal with my own.

 

[Eggcessive]

Just as a precaution, I would quarantine the one hen for 30 days, then add a sacrificial chicken of your flock to stay with her for 2 more weeks. Worm the new hen with fenbendazole and treat it for lice and mites with sevin dust or permethrin once and again in 7-10 days. If your old hen is showing no signs of diseases then they should both be added to the flock. It's a shame the person taking care of them let them get like that. Rooster damage can occur pretty quickly from too many young roosters. Feather picking by all will occur if there is not enough room or not enough protein in the diet. 16% ids minimum, and 20% is better if they are having feather picking.

 

[Colorfulegg]

They had no rooster to do the damage. The hens did it to each other. Because their bellies were bare too I suspect that they were starved and started to moult. I think the pecking problem was always there but did not get better when they were starved. The owners got new birds so I think they stopped feeding this flock, forcing a moulting. I am giving this lone chicken a dust bath area today and plan to keep her separate for a month and then add one of mine to see how it works out. I sure hope she does not have mites, yikes.