What is this??

[Sewforyou2000]

What is this? I just got 5 chickens that were said to be Bovans Brown. From far off I thought they were mounting. after inspection I find what is pictured below. If you zoom in you can see they are broken off and one has blood. Their necks are also like this. They were brought to auction crammed in a cage with 87 total birds. Surely they weren’t in such close quarters wherever they were from. What should I do for them? You can’t tell how bad the necks are on a couple of them in the pics.

 

[nuthatched]

Feathering picking from stress, boredom and poor diet. Get them on a feed with at least 18% protein and the feathers should grown in next molt.

 

[Eggcessive]

Do you know their age? They may be molting, but it looks like the new patch of feathers on the saddle is getting broken off from pecking. provide them with a lot of room, and feed them some Flock Raiser for a few weeks before switching to layer feed.

 

[krissyweso]

I agree with the above. Also, Rooster Booster Pick-No-More lotion could be helpful to keep them from continuing to pick, and it soothes. It has a very strong tea tree scent fyi.

 

[Sewforyou2000]

Do you know their age? They may be molting, but it looks like the new patch of feathers on the saddle is getting broken off from pecking. provide them with a lot of room, and feed them some Flock Raiser for a few weeks before switching to layer feed.

They said 16 months. At least they have more room now and are getting along great with my other chickens.

 

[nuthatched]

They said 16 months. At least they have more room now and are getting along great with my other chickens.

Did you quarantine at all?

 

[Sewforyou2000]

Did you quarantine at all?

For a few days. I know I should have probably done longer.

 

[nuthatched]

For a few days. I know I should have probably done longer.

At least a month , but that's water under the bridge now.

 

[Eggcessive]

At 16 months, that is around the age that they start the first big molt, at 16-18 months.