Unknown reason for hens constant feather pecking

[Abriana]

I feed my flock eggs and meat all the time. They love it and i think it makes their eggs taste better too. Sounds like space and boredom are not the issue here. I would give them some protein.

 

[Mysimplewyominglife]

Can anyone else weigh in on whole eggs and meat thing? don't want to do it and end up having to cull the 6 layers I have.

 

[Abriana]

Not whole eggs, hard boiled and crushed so they don't resemble eggs. I do feed mine whole eggs sometimes (gross to me to put a poopy egg in my pot). I also roast them over a fire, putting them in the coals and then making a few holes as it cooks-that is their favorite.

 

[Mysimplewyominglife]

Sorry I ment eggs in general. Lots of the older ppl I have talked to say no meat or eggs followed by a "horror" story of them or their friends/family.

 

[Abriana]

Never had a problem with egg eaters or cannibalism, but if you don't want to give them eggs or meat, thats fine. Someone said cat food has protein in it, you might feel more comfortable feeding them that. No pressure, do what you feel is right!

 

[Mysimplewyominglife]

cat food? would they even eat that? followed by dry or wet?

 

[Abriana]

Dry cat food. And if they need protein, they will eat it.

 

[Mysimplewyominglife]

also just thinking about it would a hen that has say low protein lay smaller eggs like that of a pullet just starting to come into lay?

 

[Abriana]

I'm not sure

 

[lazy gardener]

Possible but how would I get more protein for her other then eggs as my great grand mother told me never give them eggs even if cooked as the would become eggs eaters and that was her own experience growing up.

Can anyone else weigh in on whole eggs and meat thing? don't want to do it and end up having to cull the 6 layers I have.

also just thinking about it would a hen that has say low protein lay smaller eggs like that of a pullet just starting to come into lay?

Morgan, are you in the U.S. or are you in the southern hemisphere? I can tell you one thing that will cause a chicken to eat eggs is this: her diet is not adequate to meet her needs. Then the shells become weak. Chickens are opportunistic and it's a self preservation thing to eat any egg that breaks in the nest. A broken egg that is not cleaned up would attract predators. And that weak egg might just as well be used by the chicken to boost her own health.

A sitting hen will eat any egg that does not contain a viable embryo. Same thing: keep the nest clean, and help prevent predators.

Often egg eating is a seasonal thing, most frequently seen at the end of a laying cycle, when calcium reserves are used up, and the shells become weak. It's also seen at the end of the winter.

IMO, feeding eggs to the flock is more likely to PREVENT egg eating than it is to cause it. (because it gives them the protein they need.) I give egg shells to my birds ALL THE TIME. This is also considered to "cause egg eating". I do not grind the egg shells up. Or wash them. I simply toss them on the ground, and stomp them with my foot. Any meat that we don't eat goes to either the dog, or the chickens. I often give them a cooked chicken or turkey carcass to clean up. And NO, this does not turn them into cannibals!

Finally, I do believe that a hen who is protein deficient would lay smaller eggs. Before collecting hatching eggs, I put my flock on multi vitamins. It makes a huge difference in the quality of the entire egg: shell and membrane strength, yolk size and color, yolk membrane strength, fewer blood spots, larger eggs.

I believe the feather picking you are seeing may be related to a deficient diet. That being said, once feather picking starts, it can become a habit that can only be fixed by removing the feather picker from the flock.