How to stop two hens eating feathers

[SomeChookLover]

Hi everyone,
I’m having a bit of trouble with two of my hens, Albatross and Molly. Both are pecking and eating feathers, and I want to stop them before it escalates further.
They’re both around four years old, still very healthy and laying.
The pellets I give them are 15% protein, which they can access at any time, and they are also free range. It has been quite hot this summer but has started to cool down, but that could’ve caused stress.
Anyway, I noticed Albatross would peck the feathers on my roosters foot and eat them. After a little more observation, I noticed Molly doing it as well. Molly also pecked and ate Albatrosses’ hackles. I tried to find some anti pecking spray at the local farm supplies but they didn’t have any. I decided to keep an eye on it to see if they escalated anymore as so far no blood had been drawn. However today it did, Molly pecked at the foot of a hen lower in the pecking order, drawing blood, and Albatross tried to go after her (I obviously intervened) And they are now both in jail.
The problem is in about a week and a half we are due to have chicks, and Molly can escape the other area I could put her in, not to mention then she’d also be with Albatross.
I’ve never dealt with this before and I’m not sure why they’re doing it. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[sourland]

Pin Less Peepers can stop this habit, and sometimes even break it. I would also provide protein supplementation.

 

[StinkyAcres]

15% protein is very low, lower than the minimum recommended protein for hens. Switching to a balanced complete feed with 18%-20% protein is better than supplementing with a high protein treat. Keep treats to a minimum (about 10% of their diet) as they can basically dilute the protein and other nutrients in the feed.

 

[SomeChookLover]

15% protein is very low, lower than the minimum recommended protein for hens. Switching to a balanced complete feed with 18%-20% protein is better than supplementing with a high protein treat. Keep treats to a minimum (about 10% of their diet) as they can basically dilute the protein and other nutrients in the feed.

Pin Less Peepers can stop this habit, and sometimes even break it. I would also provide protein supplementation.

Hi sorry for taking so long to respond, the notifications didn’t come through for some reason.
I’ve ordered some pin less peepers and a higher protein feed (20%) and they should be here in a week or two. I could never find consistent figures on how much protein chickens need so that’s really good to know.
In the meantime I’ve started giving them some cooked eggs to give them more protein. They don’t get many treats aside from the occasional scraps once a week and what they can find in the garden. I also often flip rocks for them to eat whatever bugs are underneath.
I think that the fact they’re both older but still laying, and now molting is probably what pushed them over the edge. Whereas the other chickens could cope with the lower protein. Hopefully this new feed will prevent it from happening again. Thank you both so much for your replies.

 

[Buffbrahmabantam]

You might buy some grubs for them in the meantime. They are black soldier fly larvae - dried. We get ours from scratch and peck feeds (more expensive, but grown more locally in North America rather than in China like some other brands). Our chickens love them.

Also, confinement can cause behavioral problems. If you can, give your chickens room to roam.

 

[SomeChookLover]

You might buy some grubs for them in the meantime. They are black soldier fly larvae - dried. We get ours from scratch and peck feeds (more expensive, but grown more locally in North America rather than in China like some other brands). Our chickens love them.

Also, confinement can cause behavioral problems. If you can, give your chickens room to roam.
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Hi, thanks for your reply. I couldn’t find that exact feed as I’m in Australia rather than North America, but I did find a feed with dried mealworms, black soldier fly larva and a few other bugs when I went to a pet store in the nearest city (locally sourced too!)

The chickens are already free range, but they had to be confined during a bird flu outbreak which is when I believe they started feather eating. They usually feather peck/eat when all the chickens are preening together, so when they’re in close proximity.
Thanks again.