Help, chickens picking feathers off others.

[Blackie2012]

Hello Folks, Very new to raising chickens, so don't know why some my chickens are picking feathers from the neck of other chickens. It's cold in the winter, so hate to see one of these bared neck get sick for cold.

These birds are RIR hens, about a little over a year old, not laying at the moment.

Why is this behavior and what can do to prevent from further happening? We are new to raising chickens and don't know much yet. So any and all info would be much appreciated. Thank you in advance.

 

[tdgill]

overcrowding? lack of protein? boredom?

hang a head of cabbage in the coop - they LOVE to pick at it and it's a cheap fun treat. Add a little protein to their diet. Scrambled eggs is good. Some people add a bit of dry cat food as treats.

edited to add: read, read, get a book. I think I would have been so much better off to have read a book on raising chickens. (there's tons of them - even at the library these days) I would have had less anxiety and less use the search features here. lol