what to do about chicken bullying

[wantbantams]

I have 14 chickens that have been together since day 1. They used to be so sweet. About a week ago a noticed tht there were a lot of feathers laying around for one of my roosters and my buff barhma. I moved them into the coop 2 days ago and there are lots of fresh feathers. What should I do?

 

[azygous]

Have you observed bullying behavior or are you just assuming it?

The sudden appearance of feathers from a couple of the chickens may simply be from molt. Examine the chickens. Look for pin feathers emerging from the bald spots. This is what molt looks like. If the feathers are frayed and broken with no evidence of re-growth, then it is probably from rough-housing.

If you identify bullying, then you need to observe further to identify the bullies. Placing the bullies in confinement for a few days may help solve the problem. If not, then you can resort to pinless peepers for the bullies so they're less apt to snatch feathers.

 

[wantbantams]

I was just assuming bulllying because the two losing fethers are so nice. The chickens are only 9 weeks old so I thought that would be too young for a molt.

 

[azygous]

They could molt if they've been exposed to stress of any sort, such as being scared by a snake or going without food for a stretch.

You still need to observe them. Their behavior will give you some clues. Some chickens pluck out their own feathers.

 

[Mrs. K]

They are getting bigger, they might be needing more space?