Is this Molting or Pecking?

[ChickNanny13]

Your guess is right one I was thinking they were drinking, got their muffs wet & some of the others were pecking at it (chickens love shiny stuff).

How many do you have in all? You'll need to add more waterers & feeders, I calculate 4 to one waterer/feeder ... Same as birds to nest box. What is the size of your set up? It's recommended 4 sq ft per bird in the coop & 10 sq ft per in the run, this is minimum to help prevent flock issues. Actually bigger the better due to Chicken Math

 

[N Sully]

Got to love that chicken math @ChickNanny13

 

[aart]

Are these the only birds you have...or did you add these new ones to an existing flock?
How old are the new birds?

 

[IvanK]

Are these the only birds you have...or did you add these new ones to an existing flock?
How old are the new birds?

The BRs and ameraucanas came together so I kept them together for the time being. No new introductions to any existing flock. This flock is 12 birds in total and they have about 200 sq feet inside and more space outside.

 

[aart]

The BRs and ameraucanas came together so I kept them together for the time being. No new introductions to any existing flock. This flock is 12 birds in total and they have about 200 sq feet inside and more space outside.

Did they live together before you got them?
So your coop is something like 10' x 20'?
That's a huge coop!
Probably just pecking order stuff.
Multiple feed ans water stations spread far apart might help.
The wetness is maybe from open waterers?

 

[IvanK]

Did they live together before you got them?
So your coop is something like 10' x 20'?
That's a huge coop!
Probably just pecking order stuff.
Multiple feed ans water stations spread far apart might help.
The wetness is maybe from open waterers?

Its a 6000 sq foot barn. I went on to expand my poultry varieties (I'm fairly new to chickens but sooo hooked) and wanted to give BRs and Ameraucanas a try. I love them both and thought I'd keep them together to save me the time of building some new walls. It might just be better to keep the two types apart...which is my eventual objective anyway.
The birds did come together and according to the fella that I bought them from they were all free run together before the move.
I agree that a separate feed and water station would help and I may do that today to buy me some time as I prep a new area for my Ameraucanas.
I've been reading that BRs have a reputation for being bossy so I think if I want them to flourish, I should keep them separate. If all that was lost were some feathers for me to realize this, I'll take it over something worse.
I now think they got wet either by being attacked at the waterer or they both somehow got themselves wet which resulted in shiny feathers which the other birds pecked on as @ChickNanny13 said....perhaps both.