So, I've been having my older chickens free range during the day with my 10-12 week olds. There has been some chasing around from time to time, especially while feeding them treats. Today, was the nastiest attack I've seen. We went out to feed them some leftover veggies that got waterlogged in our cooler, and my EE viciously pecked my young black sex-link, and pulled out about 6 feathers. The very second that happened, one of my schitzo brown leghorns ran over and began feasting upon the feathers. I immediately ran over and shooed her away, and threw away the rest of the feathers. I have never seen her do this. She's a layer, supposedly about 10 months old (though I'm somewhat questioning her age...she just started laying and she's pretty small).
I've read that feather eating can be a sign of protein deficiency. They're all fed layer (they also have access to the youngin's grower/finisher). They also get lots of bugs as they free range (we live in the forest basically), and we also feed them protein treats like fish, liver, and (ack) chicken carcass (cooked). She also lays very well. So I doubt it's a protein thing. However, I'm worried.
I notice feathers around the coop/run, but not many. Anyone have any advice?
I've read that feather eating can be a sign of protein deficiency. They're all fed layer (they also have access to the youngin's grower/finisher). They also get lots of bugs as they free range (we live in the forest basically), and we also feed them protein treats like fish, liver, and (ack) chicken carcass (cooked). She also lays very well. So I doubt it's a protein thing. However, I'm worried.
I notice feathers around the coop/run, but not many. Anyone have any advice?