Help! not sure what’s wrong with my chickens

[jasminsaab]

Hi.
i’ve seen that on the back of my chickens there is a lot of feathers and it is very red.
it is really worrying and I feel like something is wrong with them.
I know that they bully each other and pick up feathers but it looks worse than what it should be in my opinion.
please help!!!

 

[Banana01]

That is a lot of feathers missing, but no blood so that is good. Do you know for sure it's from pecking? Poor thing is getting bullied. Do a really close inspection looking for tiny almost invisible insects just to rule that out. How long has this been happening? You may need to construct a smaller cage or house to protect him. If it gets worse he may get killed if they stay together.

 

[jasminsaab]

That is a lot of feathers missing, but no blood so that is good. Do you know for sure it's from pecking? Poor thing is getting bullied. Do a really close inspection looking for tiny almost invisible insects just to rule that out. How long has this been happening? You may need to construct a smaller cage or house to protect him. If it gets worse he may get killed if they stay together.

It’s happening to 2 of our chickens. We are pretty sure it’s from them pecking each other
We will have to have a look to see if it’s mites or insects. We’ve been spraying a mites spray on them just incase to help the exposed skin. It’s been happening for a month or so by now, we didn’t think it would get this bad it’s our first time owning chickens. How will we know if it’s bullying?

 

[jasminsaab]

It’s happening to 2 of our chickens. We are pretty sure it’s from them pecking each other
We will have to have a look to see if it’s mites or insects. We’ve been spraying a mites spray on them just incase to help the exposed skin. It’s been happening for a month or so by now, we didn’t think it would get this bad it’s our first time owning chickens. How will we know if it’s bullying?

This is chicken 2.
1st chicken has been like for about 3 months
The 2nd one for about 2 months
No insects I believe as We spray them with a repellant

 

[rosemarythyme]

If you know they're pecking at each other, then they're likely plucking feathers and eating them.

How many chickens do you have total? All hens, or is there a rooster too?

What is the protein % of your feed? Sometimes raising protein % can help with feather picking.

Can we get some photos of your coop and run? Do you know how big they are? Chickens that are stressed or bored can turn to picking on each other.

 

[Banana01]

How big is your pen? You should see feathers on the ground. There are a few things you can try but it's blind guessing without seeing your coop.

You could add a second food dish so that they can not have to fight over the food. You can cage them with their own food inside. You can tie a rope around their legs and tie them to opposite sides of the run to keep them apart.

Edit. The feather picking and protein is very good info. Roos fight but that is excessive feathers missing beyond normal bullying or boredom.

 

[jasminsaab]

If you know they're pecking at each other, then they're likely plucking feathers and eating them.

How many chickens do you have total? All hens, or is there a rooster too?

What is the protein % of your feed? Sometimes raising protein % can help with feather picking.

Can we get some photos of your coop and run? Do you know how big they are? Chickens that are stressed or bored can turn to picking on each other.

I have 4 hens, no roosters.
I don’t know the exact % but now that you mention it, i definitely think we don’t give them enough protein.
What types of protein do you recommend? We give a lot of veggies and carb, dried maggots and dried chicken food.
I can post some pictures tomorrow morning of the size of the coop, they’re getting quite big now. We try to let them out once or twice a day

 

[jasminsaab]

How big is your pen? You should see feathers on the ground. There are a few things you can try but it's blind guessing without seeing your coop.

You could add a second food dish so that they can not have to fight over the food. You can cage them with their own food inside. You can tie a rope around their legs and tie them to opposite sides of the run to keep them apart.

Edit. The feather picking and protein is very good info. Roos fight but that is excessive feathers missing beyond normal bullying or boredom.

No feathers on the ground which is why I’m confused, unless they are eating them.
I will upload a pic of the coop tomorrow.
I usually have them caged inside whilst eating food but I will try using 2 bowls again, they tend to still go for one bowl even with the other one there.
We might need to consider separating them for a while because the poor thing looks like it’s gone too far, makes me very sad

 

[rosemarythyme]

Looking forward to photos. Also get a measuring tape and get some measurements - coop floor space without nest boxes, and the run length & width. When you say letting them out 2x a day, how long do they get to stay out, and what's "out" - a suburban backyard? An empty patio? Woods?

It sounds like you're feeding a lot of treats which dilute down the protein in the feed. I'd recommend stopping with the extras, and using feed with a higher protein %, approx 18-20%.

 

[jasminsaab]

Looking forward to photos. Also get a measuring tape and get some measurements - coop floor space without nest boxes, and the run length & width. When you say letting them out 2x a day, how long do they get to stay out, and what's "out" - a suburban backyard? An empty patio? Woods?

It sounds like you're feeding a lot of treats which dilute down the protein in the feed. I'd recommend stopping with the extras, and using feed with a higher protein %, approx 18-20%.

Here are some pics of the coops and the backyard they roam around in.
I fed them some tuna and veggies today, will try to come back on the treats. I did them individuals bowls but at times they would still go to the same bowl.
I’ve put a photo of how i’ve left them overnight, I also put some water in there just incase.
I’ve also just noticed these hard spots on the eggs, does this mean something is wrong? This egg is from last night.