Is it normal for chickens to eat feathers?

[7L Farm]

I'm not sure its lack of protein.I think its a chicken behaviour. Reason being is my chickens eat bugs left & right , lots of grass and sunflower seeds . In other words I control their food intake cause I'm with them & feed them.

 

[cluckin_crazy]

I have had chickens for a year and only just now have I noticed this behavior. I have one BR that is pretty dominant and when she pecks at another hen, she eats a feather or 2 that she pecked out. The only other ones that I see eating feathers now are the 2 that are molting. I know for a fact that they have plenty of protein in their diet... they have 17% layer pellets, a little bit of game bird feed mixed in, and from time to time I make them scrambled eggs with flax seeds. The really dominant BR is new and so is one of the molters. I think it's a combination of flock changes, molting and living space changes. My husband just built them a new coop and they're adjusting to the new digs (a seasoned layer deposited a nice fat egg in the middle of the run today).

BTW my coop is plenty big for them... coop itself is 4x8, run is an additional 14x8. They also free range from the time I get home from work (about 330pm) until they go to bed.

 

[centrarchid]

Individuals of many birds species eat feathers. At very least a source of fiber, potentially a good source of protein, as a mineral source not likely because made mostly of protein (keratin) like hair and scales.

 

[bywaterdog]

Moulting birds need all of the extra protean that they can get. I feed mine cat food ( 22% protean)along with their regular feed and am happy that they recycle their feathers.

 

[azygous]

I agree that supplementing with a little bit of dry cat food daily does curb the feather eating. I distinguish between "feather eating" and "feather picking". They're often two distinct behaviors. One is prompted by a nutritional deficiency and the other is a flock management problem, usually involving crowding so the chickens pick on one another.

My chickens were gobbling up any stray feather that floated off a warm body. I started giving them a quarter cup of Science Diet dry cat food (fifteen chickens) with their daily scratch ration, and the feather eating has become practically non-existent.

I have three molting right now, and it certainly does seem to help the feathers re-grow faster.