I have a problem with feather pecking!!

[FelixFelicis]

Hi guys, I have a small flock of 5, 4 hens and 1 accidental rooster.

Lately my welsummers have begun pecking at each others feathers. The feathers on the necks and backs of two of my welsummers are looking awful! I know some of the blame lies with my rooster, but mostly it's the hens. They peck at each others feathers and the victim just sits there and lets it happen!

The coop is definitely big enough for them, maybe a bit too big as I've left room to extend my flock. They are confined to a 12x8 ft run though, so I'm guessing the problem could be that they're a bit over-crowded and bored maybe? we're planning on extending the run a further 4ft out so it will be 12X12, giving them a bit of extra room. Will this help?

Has anyone tried anti-peck sprays? do they work? and does anyone have any suggestions as to how to alleviate their boredom?

Thank you!

 

[Percheron chick]

Your run is more than adequate in size for 5. I would start by giving them a high protein treat to make sure they aren't lacking that. Mealworms, cat kibble, soybeans, game bird feed... Toss them a head of cabbage to play with and make sure they have some loose dirt/sand/ashes to bathe in.

 

[Nupe]

I don't think its a space issue. It could be protein deficiency. What are you feeding? How much of their diet is treats/scraps? 15-16% protein is bare minimum for laying hens and most layer feeds are maximum 16% and not all of them offer animal proteins which even if they get enough total protein, lack of animal proteins will cause them to eat each other's feathers. If you want to give them a good protein boost, you can give them cooked meat or eggs and see what happens.

 

[FelixFelicis]

Thanks for all your advice! They're on layers pellets which are 17% protein. This week they're not having anything extra as I'm worming them, but they usually have kitchen scraps in the afternoon, usually just fruit or veg, and they get the grass clipping when i mow the lawn too. I was giving them birdseed which is supposedly high in protein but that gave them diarrhea so they don't have that anymore, and they occasionally have meal worms too (usually if I'm trying to catch them lol), but they haven't ever eaten meat so perhaps it is a lack of animal protein!

I've read somewhere that cat food can be toxic, is that not true? My cat eats dry food, if i give them a sprinkle of that as scratch food in the afternoon would that be ok? Are there any meats/fish that they shouldn't eat?

They're in a bare earth run and the soil looks as though it would be pretty good to dust bath in, but I've actually never seen them doing it. Should I put a pan of sand or something in there too? or do you think I'm just missing the dust bathing?

I did think that they had enough room tbh, but as I'm planning on hatching chicks in the near future and eventually adding them to their coop I'm going to extend anyway. Plus it will give them a bit more room to run away from the rooster when he's over-using them!

They seem to target just two of my welsummers. I have three welsummers and two orpingtons (one being the roo), the roo's feathers are fine, the orpington hen has a few pecked feathers but not many, one of the welsummers has beautiful feathers, not a mark on her, but the other two look ragged!