Was Broody, Now Pulling Feathers, not laying, tail down.

[Gordcorp]

Hi
I have 1 rooster, 8 hens, light Sussex, maybe 8 months old.

Three girls went broody in the same nest for 6+ weeks. I removed all the eggs and they were dead.

Now the 2 youngest who were Broody are pulling out all their feathers.

I also have one that has her tail down since she joined us 6 months ago.

Should I isolate the 3 of them, give them extra protein and see if they improve?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

What are you feeding?

 

[Gordcorp]

Scratch mix which includes laying pallets and grain/seeds

 

[rosemarythyme]

Scratch isn't balanced feed, it's meant as a treat. They should be on a nutritionally balanced chicken feed and given that you have a rooster (assuming you want to keep him long term) an all flock type feed would be recommended.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Scratch mix which includes laying pallets and grain/seeds

Your birds may be pulling each other's feathers because they are not getting enough protein in their diet. Layer feed only has 16% protein. Switch them to a feed with 20% protein or higher. As @rosemarythyme suggests, an all-flock formula would be ideal. If you can't find that, look for a grower or starter feed or maybe something called feather fixer. Layer feed contains calcium which may not be good for roosters and other non-laying birds. When you switch to all-flock, supply calcium by providing oyster shell in a separate container. The birds that need it will help themselves. Feed a small amount of scratch only rarely, as a special treat, do not mix it with their feed.

 

[wrathsfarm]

If your referencing the feathers on the pullets backs?

That's damage caused by your cockerel mating. You may look into getting some 'hen saddles' to help with the over mating or you could try separating your cockerel out during peak mating times which is typically early am and later pm. Young boys can be frisky.

I agree with the feed advise. I feed a 18% chick starter/grower crumble or an All-Flock feed to both my flocks depending on what the youngest needs with oyster shell and grit on the side.