Pecking and feather loss, pests?

[3KillerBs]

Can they play with a hay bale instead of a straw bale or does it need to be straw?

Hay is commonly believed to be more prone to mold/mildew than straw.

Some people do, however, offer leafy alfalfa hay as a green supplement in the winter when they don't have access to green forage.

I don't know which way the cost factor breaks right now.

 

[Kidwantschickens]

Hay is commonly believed to be more prone to mold/mildew than straw.

Some people do, however, offer leafy alfalfa hay as a green supplement in the winter when they don't have access to green forage.

I don't know which way the cost factor breaks right now.

Fair points. It's pretty dry here, but I guess I wasn't aware that chickens couldn't pick through some moldy hay cuz we have hay for our horses. But I can see you know finding a bail that has a few flakes that aren't so nice and saying. Okay, let's give it to the chickens instead, but if eating something that's moldy must see that the horses can't eat doesn't work for chickens then that probably isn't the best idea for us either

 

[Kidwantschickens]

Sorry for hijacking the thread and my speak to text hates me and apparently doesn't know how to spell bail in regards to a hay bale

 

[3KillerBs]

Fair points. It's pretty dry here, but I guess I wasn't aware that chickens couldn't pick through some moldy hay cuz we have hay for our horses. But I can see you know finding a bail that has a few flakes that aren't so nice and saying. Okay, let's give it to the chickens instead, but if eating something that's moldy must see that the horses can't eat doesn't work for chickens then that probably isn't the best idea for us either

If I get a bale of straw with a few black spots inside I use those flakes as garden mulch.

I don't think my chickens would *eat* the moldy parts, but they have very delicate respiratory systems.

 

[Coldd]

Update:

I built three roosts outside, their dust bath is maintained, have two waterer and two places to get food. I stepped up their protein intake via food (18% feather fixer) and treats, and regularly add back crushed egg shells to their diet.

I got it down to two birds, or so I thought, that were doing most of the pecking. I put a blinder on one and will be doing the other tomorrow. The one with the blinders on seems to be MUCH more docile now.

I noticed tonight that a lot of fighting happens on the roosts. I have around 9 linear feet of roost inside the coop, but maybe I need to separate them more and add more length. Queen Bird layed a few nasty pecks on one other bird who was harassing another of the birds.

I really don’t know. I give them food, water, space, treats, what am I doing wrong? I try to hang greens over the outside roosts so they can jump and peck at those, and there’s enough stuff around that they don’t need to compete. I’d send the troublemakers to freezer camp if my girlfriend didnt forbid it.

Any suggestions? One is looking really rough. (Missing feathers above the tail, nearly bald there, and under the tail itself h set the vent. All but one are bald below the vent. I feel bad that she has lost so many feathers. It does not look like pests after checking several birds several times.

Any input? Going to try more blinders but also thinking of giving some away.

Thanks

 

[rosemarythyme]

Any photos of the updated set up? Fighting on roosts is common and not usually an issue, but if your flock already has problems it could be in your case.

Your roosts in the coop (at least I think that's the one photo you posted) isn't conducive to adding dividers, but you could possibly make some of cardboard and attach them to the bars themselves temporarily, so each chicken has a "slot" to fit in where they can't harass any birds next to them.

Once you get the blinders on the second bird, see if anything improves with the group overall. Giving away the bullies could be a solution but I'd give the blinders a chance first.

 

[Coldd]

Greetings,

Thanks for the replies in the thread. A few days have passed since I posted but we’ve managed to put a blinder on problem bird #2.

Things seem to be going OK, and the coop seems more relaxed when I go to put them in for the evening. There have been, regularly, 7 of 8 birds in the roosts at night instead of two.

Will the feathers come back before the molt?

Thanks!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Will the feathers come back before the molt?

Feathers regrow during molt, so if your birds are just about at that point, you should soon see pin feathers in any bare patches. Broken feathers are a little different, the bird would need to shed them first and then regrow them.

 

[Coldd]

Feathers regrow during molt, so if your birds are just about at that point, you should soon see pin feathers in any bare patches. Broken feathers are a little different, the bird would need to shed them first and then regrow them.

I believe they are only 8-9 months old…is one coming soon? They look rough!

 

[rosemarythyme]

I believe they are only 8-9 months old…is one coming soon? They look rough!

I can't remember when all the juvenile molts hit. Adult molts start at roughly 18 months or so.

Luckily having a few bare patches doesn't seem to bother chickens much. They won't win any beauty pageants but they usually don't have issues keeping warm.