why do hens eat feathers

[hayn lei'rs]

im new to chicken behavior and do not understand why one of our japanese hens pecks our bramas from time to time
and then proceeds to eat the feathers
is she asserting her dominance or just being aggressive or looking for extra nutrition
shes done it a few times now and she just gobbles up the feathers
i have not see this before can anyone help explain the reason?
thank you...

 

[sheaviance1]

I recently read that they eat new feathers coming in because they are red (blood filled) and that you can try to prevent this behavior by offering red treats, but the best prevention is to segregate the chickens until all the new feathers have come in.

 

[Lollipop]

That may be true, but the most common cause of feather eating is for lack of protien. Add some cheap catfood or boiled eggs to their diet and that should help. Don`t overdo it........Pop