why are my hens feathers broke

[miss pickles]

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Do you have a rooster? If not it's probably from picking.

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

Have you checked for mites or lice?

 

[miss pickles]

No, I do not have a Roo. I do have an aggressive Hen. and this one is at bottom of the flock.

 

[Chickassan]

Is your agressive hen perchance mounting this one?

No, I do not have a Roo. I do have an aggressive Hen. and this one is at bottom of the flock.

 

[miss pickles]

I haven't witnessed any mounting. I have three hens, one Leghorn/Austria White? and
two Wyandotte's I noticed that my other Wyandotte has a few broken feathers on her
back side . No signs of broken feathers on the Leghorn/Austria White and she's the
agressive one and a great layer. The Wyandotte's just started laying

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

How big is their area? It can help to provide hiding stops, and places for birds to get away from each other to prevent aggressive behaviors in confinement.

 

[miss pickles]

The Run is 7'4"X 9' 6ft high. I spent some time this morning working on a project next to the chickens and I caught Bonnie cornering the 2 Wyandotte's pecking their saddles
so took Bonnie out of the run and put her in a cage. They all had a fit. It's been 45min now
and they have calmed down

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

You may want to try adding some hiding spots or things to get up on in the run and see if that helps. What are their ages? Sometimes they are a bit moody around sexual maturity and the point of lay and they calm down in a month or two.

 

[miss pickles]

Ages maybe 6 1/2 months. The girl I bought them from she had so many chickens, she guessed the ages . Yes Bonnie is very moody, runs to me , and squads like she wants to be bred. She acts just like a Roo, I thought she was until she laid an egg.