Rooster eating feathers....

[ladybug99]

Good morning all....
I have been noticing over the past few days that my rooster has been eating feathers.. when ever a hen shakes he runs over and gobbles down any of her feathers that may drop.. this morning he plucked one of the girls tail feathers and swollowed it whole... What does this mean?? how does that efffect his crop??? Just curious

 

[Chic-Zebo Girl]

I believe this means he is protein deficient. Try feeding some BOSS (Black Oil Sunflower Seeds). You can just throw it in the run or in the coop. My girls and boy love it. Also, make sure feed is available at all times. Also ensure that scratch is not the main feed.

 

[ladybug99]

Hmm really... food is avaliable all day long...They won't eat boss any other protein rich items I can give them.. I give them cheese, tuna, yougart and lots of vegetables.. any suggestions are appreciated

 

[ladybug99]

Ok.. I found some BOSS mixed with safflower seeds... I am going to try this and see if they eat it... hopefully they will get the taste for the Boss.. especially my feather eating rooster LOL.. craziest thing have ever seen

 

[Kittymomma]

What are you feeding them now--main feed, treats, and anything else?

 

[ladybug99]

They are on grower pellets and that is avaliable to them all day long... every morning I throw out a cup or two of scratch. They are not fond of the scratch so sometimes I skip a day or two till they finish up what I threw down. In the evening when I come home they get a variety of treats that vary from peanut butter and jelly sandwiches , veggies from the garden, yourgert,table scraps including meat fish and chicken. They love fruit and cut weeds and grass.. now they are playing in the leaves. I just went out to try to get them to eat the boss.. but no such luck until I mixed it up with thier apple sauce,grapes and shredded cheese....I was thinking when I get home from work tomorrow to get some kitten food for some extra protien..

 

[Kittymomma]

Sounds like a pretty good diet all in all. I've used canned cat food in the chicken ER when nothing else will tempt them, but it's really to high in salt and some other stuff (can't remember what else) to make it a good choice for regular use. Meat scraps are good and they really like canned fish. The fish can get spendy unless you happen to have a lot of extra and can it yourself though--My dh is a fishing hunting fool so I do a lot of that for our family and any grade b stuff gets done up for the critters.

Is your roo doing any other goofy things? Eating feathers is classic for a protien deficient bird, but that doesn't really seem likely with the diet they're getting. Are any of the others eating feathers?

 

[ladybug99]

No he is not acting very goofy.. he just started to crow... a real crow.. not a honk .. he is about 16 weeks old.. none of the girls are eating feathers. He has always been leary of me so hand feeding him is out of the question. I do have some frozen talapia in the freezer maybe I'll cook some up tomorrow for them. They actually eat just about any thing.. just not boss or scratch LOL....I usually buy tuna fish when it goes on sale.. I have a few cans of that as well. He does have a very full crop by the end of the day so I know he is eating... always small in the morning so he is digesting everything as well..