Pluckers

[JudyLPB]

Ok, this is our first group of chickens and I need help. We have 2 Australorps, 2 Easter Eggers and 1 Rhode Island red. We noticed one of the Australorps toosh was bare. I have been trying to research why. We have checked for signs of bugs, can't see anything. So then we thought maybe boredom since it's winter. Today I noticed our one Easter egger, Scarlett, is pecking at all the girls' butts and eating the feathers. We give them organic layer feed, plus oyster shells. We give them black oil sunflower seeds. We occasionally give them raisins. We also hang cabbage for them to play with and eat. 4 out of the 5 have been laying eggs for around a month, month and a half. Scarlett is starting to show signs, but hasn't started laying yet. They are all almost 7 months old. What are we doing wrong and how can we stop this behavior before it escalates into something worse?

 

[fried green eggs]

Hi &

. Check the protein level of the feed. Sometimes feather picking is caused by their need for more protein. You could give them a can of tuna a few times a week and see if that changes the behavior. I changed mine from 16% layer feed to 18% and all feather picking stopped. Hope this helps. Good Luck

 

[JudyLPB]

Thank you. We will have to try that. We also bought a flock block to see if that relieves some of their boredom. We bought some worms yesterday and gave them a few.