No Tail Feathers

[trudi59]

my hens and one rooster have no tail feathers...well 4 older hens do...they are in a coop,we have many predators here.the coop has 16 nest boxes,an enclosed(3 sides)room,and an open run@14'x12'.i have at least 20 hens in there.they are fed crumbles/scratch/andpellets every day????fresh water???what am i doing wrong...i get 1 egg a day,

trudi59

 

[Uppity Peon]

There are some "rumpless" breeds of chickens that never have tail feathers. Are you saying they have lost their feathers or they never had them?

Sometimes rats nibble feathers at night. Don't have chicken feed accessible to rats at night. Use a hanging feeder and don't leave it hanging out at night when the chickens are asleep.

Take time to observe the chickens to be sure one of the dominant chickens isn't plucking the feathers off the rest.

 

[Schroeder]

I have 11 hens and 1 rooster of 7 different breeds. The 2 Golden Campines haven't had tail feathers since 12 weeks old. That's 12 weeks ago. One of the others are picking at them, but never in my presence. I just ordered No Peck to see if this will stop them.

 

[Imp]

trudi59,

Here's a link that might help. Loss of feathers and decreased egg production could just be molt. Also if they free range they might be hiding eggs. And watch for egg eating. How old are the younger hens?

Imp


http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/library/lvstk2/mf2308.pdf