Please help... I am really worried

[jillam]

I have 10 hens that I got from TSC on Feb. 26, 2014. I go out each evening and let them out of their large coop so they can scratch around. Tonight, my favorite (of course) hen was completely not herself. She was trying to bury herself in the moist soil in the flower bed outside their coop. She would dig down and then lay on her side. The others would come by and pull feathers off of her and she just laid there and seemed really out of it. I could pick her up with no problem (she would usually at least scoot away once or twice before letting me pick her up) and when I set her down she would just lay down for a while but then make her way back to the same hole and do it all over (including the other chickens picking on her and plucking feathers off - and eating them).
I have seen them dirt bathe - this was different. She seemed like she was sweating (?) and the dirt stuck all over her (but it was a little moist). Any ideas? Is she acting like she's about to lay an egg? None of them has ever laid one. I am not sure whether to worry or not.
Any response would be GREATLY appreciated. I'm new to this and just want to do the best thing for her.

 

[lazy gardener]

I don't have any response, but do have a few questions: how many pullets, how big is your coop and run? Have you ever noticed any of the birds plucking feathers before? What are you feeding them? How much protein in the feed? Do you have a nest box set up? Has she checked it out? You might try moving this post over to the chicken disease and injury thread. I wish you the best of luck.

 

[jillam]

This is a picture of my coop. The 10 chickens (pullets) all sleep in the TSC coop in the back.
I have never seen one of them peck at another's feathers although they do eat feathers off the ground and I saw here to supplement their feed with black oil sunflower seeds, which I did.
I feed them Layena feed and scratch feed as a snack and oyster shell (free feed from pan) and a flake of alfalfa hay twice a week and whatever they find during their 1-3 hours out a day.
They all sleep in the nesting box/inside part of that coop but I do have a two story stainless steel nesting box with 2 compartments that I hung (its hidden behind the tree in the pic) and I put her in there tonight and she just jumped out.
I went to check on her a little while ago and they were all tucked in inside the little coop like they are every night and she was among them looking ok. (I used a flashlight to see where she was - I think they are RIRs but she is the blondest one of them all and has always seemed to be not only the friendliest, but the smartest as well.) I have been worried that something would happen to her since she is the biggest pet.
I hope she will be ok. Maybe she was just hot? She was laying in the shade behind the pot right behind my daughter in the picture.
They are only 11 weeks old. That is too young for her to be laying an egg, right?

 

[topdog24]

Yes, too young to lay, more than likely trying to get down to cool dirt if it is above 85, if she seamed normal later, she is most likely ok, the others picking feathers could be they think she is sick, if they persist in pecking, get some pick no more and apply it to her feathers,good luck after getting a close up of the tsc coop, it is way too small for 10 birds, RIRsare bad about canialising the most docile chick, i experieced the same thing about a month ago, i lost 1 chick and came close to loosing another, i put pick no more on them and they stopped the picking/pecking


This is a picture of my coop. The 10 chickens (pullets) all sleep in the TSC coop in the back.
I have never seen one of them peck at another's feathers although they do eat feathers off the ground and I saw here to supplement their feed with black oil sunflower seeds, which I did.
I feed them Layena feed and scratch feed as a snack and oyster shell (free feed from pan) and a flake of alfalfa hay twice a week and whatever they find during their 1-3 hours out a day.
They all sleep in the nesting box/inside part of that coop but I do have a two story stainless steel nesting box with 2 compartments that I hung (its hidden behind the tree in the pic) and I put her in there tonight and she just jumped out.
I went to check on her a little while ago and they were all tucked in inside the little coop like they are every night and she was among them looking ok. (I used a flashlight to see where she was - I think they are RIRs but she is the blondest one of them all and has always seemed to be not only the friendliest, but the smartest as well.) I have been worried that something would happen to her since she is the biggest pet.
I hope she will be ok. Maybe she was just hot? She was laying in the shade behind the pot right behind my daughter in the picture.
They are only 11 weeks old. That is too young for her to be laying an egg, right?

 

[newchickmomma4]

Jillam, I don't know what was going on with your girl, but the coop you have is the same coop that we have our 4 adult hens in and it really is too small for them (we are building a new coop in a couple of weeks). Do you have plans for a larger coop for them?

 

[topdog24]

Put something for them to roost on in the run and let them stay in the run a couple of nights, see if the pickng stops, if so, a bigger coop is a must

 

[andreanar]

I've heard feather eating can be a sign of low protein. Give them some scrambled eggs for a few days.

 

[jillam]

I actually thought that the larger coop that I built around the little TSC coop would work... But I can see that they still like going inside that little coop every night... hmm better figure something else out... What about just closing all the sides of that little coop in so the whole thing is like being inside? I guess thought that they would feel like the whole 12x16 enclosure was their coop.

 

[jillam]

Maybe the answer is to take the little coop out? Or is it important that they have something more closed in to sleep in at night. I live in South Texas and when I open the door to check on them at night its like an oven in there. I have two perches outside the little coop that they sit on sometimes during the day but they still go inside at night.

 

[topdog24]

Maybe the answer is to take the little coop out?  Or is it important that they have something more closed in to sleep in at night.  I live in South Texas and when I open the door to check on them at night its like an oven in there.  I have two perches outside the little coop that they sit on sometimes during the day but they still go inside at night.