Lavender and CJ
In the Brooder
- Jun 21, 2024
- 12
- 13
- 27
As we've quickly found out with chickens, when it rains, it pours. Our chickens have been pecking at each other's back/parson's nose area for the past few weeks and we need advice!
Our Setup: Our hens are 6-7 months old. They are all standard-size birds. They were on layer crumbles at 18% protein, but we switched to high protein layer pellets at 20% protein 2 days ago. Their feed has never been below 18% protein. They have free choice grit and oyster shells, along with a flock block and a 5 gallon water bucket. The henhouse is 4'x8' and the run is 8'x10'. They do not free range. We do not have multiple feeder or waterer stations, just a single bucket for water with 6 cups and a single bucket for food with 6 cups. We use sand in the henhouse and a mixture of dirt and sand in the run. We have added chopped straw to the run for winter. They all lay frequently, but have slowed down because of winter. We are in Northern Utah, so we have some cold winters, although it's been mild so far. The chickens' poop has looked normal. We don't believe there are any mites/lice involved.
Situation: It is our first time raising chickens and we originally got 8. We got 2 three-week-old Gold Laced Wyandottes. On that same day, we went to another feed store and got a Black Australorp and a Lavender Orpington, they were both day-old chicks. We brought them home and put them in the brooder and there were no issues that we could see. 1 week later, we got 2 Light Brahmas that were day-old and put them with the other 4. Don't recall having any issues then, either. 1 week after we got the Light Brahmas, we got 2 Silver Laced Wyandottes that were day-old from a friend as a birthday gift. We built an addition to our brooder because the coop wasn't quite ready and the GLW's were getting big. When we added the SLW's, the Gold Laced showed some aggression towards the Silver Laced. It is important to note that there was no blood drawn at this stage. Out of caution, however, we decided to separate the 6 younger chicks (Australorp, Orpington, 2 Light Brahmas, and 2 SLW's) from the 2 GLW's. They were separated for several weeks until the coop was ready. We kept them separated that entire time because the SLW's were still small, and we were afraid of them getting pecked on by the GLW's because of their size.
When the coop was ready, we reunited all 8 chickens. We expected normal pecking order behavior to occur, but it seemed everyone was settling in fine. No feather picking on the parson's nose or back was taking place at this point. The first issue we encountered was with feather picking of the Light Brahmas' feet feathers. We assume this was started by the GLW's, who had never seen feet feathers due to their long separation from the rest of the flock. Eventually, though, the other 4 chickens joined the GLW's in plucking them, and this was the first time blood was drawn. One Brahma had far fewer feathers on her feet, so we treated with Pick No More and she remained in the coop. The other Brahma had many more feathers on her feet, resulting in an injury that was much more bloody and required treatment and isolation away from the coop. When they pick their feet feathers, they are almost always pin/blood feathers. While the injured Brahma was recovering, one GLW began feather picking the rest in the coop on their parson's nose area. We knew who it was, because all had their regular feathers broken and their downy feathers showing, except for the bully. The bully GLW did pull a blood feather on one of the SLW's back and we treated with Pick No More and left her in the coop. (That feather did not get touched after that.) At this point we made the decision to re-home the 2 GLW's, thinking this would solve our issue.
A few days after re-homing the GLW's, we discovered our Australorp bleeding, with several tail feathers pulled just above her vent. We treated her and put her in isolation to recover. We then spent some serious time observing the coop and realized that all the chickens have learned to feather pick. It seems that they are all doing it to each other now! It is all of them, not just a bully, and it is fairly constant. Even the chickens who get picked will turn around at pick at the others. Please help! We are exhausted, frustrated, and heartbroken at how complicated these backyard chickens have turned out to be. Why does no one tell you these kinds of things may happen?
Questions:
We have read posts by people with similar issues and often commenters suggest the chickens may be protein deficient, and are eating the feathers to get the protein they need. Ours eat a few feathers, but leave some on the ground as well. But just in case this was the issue, we switched to 20% high protein feed and they have been eating it for 2 days now.
-How long would the chickens have to be on the 20% high protein feed to see if the feather picking stops?
We have sat in the run with the Orpington, SLW's, and one of our Light Brahmas with a cobweb duster to break up any fighting or pecking. It has not seemed to discourage them from feather picking, it only prevents the fighting from getting out of hand, and we obviously can't be there every moment of the day.
-Can this feather picking behavior be "unlearned" or is there no going back?
We currently have a low roost bar out in the run as well as some scattered toys that they can pick on. They can also jump on top of the waterer and feeder lids and a ramp. We have also given them a flock block and chopped straw that really helps distract them. It seems like they are distracted 99% of the time but we run into issues that other 1%.
-Do we need to add more distractions to keep them from pecking at each other?
These chickens are pets to us, but understand if the best thing to do is re-home them. We don't feel comfortable trying to use pinless peepers with them, or culling them. The one Light Brahma that has been in isolation has not learned to pick the parson's nose feathers. If we must re-home the ones that have learned it, can we keep her in the coop alone through the winter and in the spring let her mother a batch of new baby chicks? If the advice is to not re-home any of them, what specific steps do we take to reintroduce our feather-footed Light Brahma to her flock mates again, after such a long isolation?
-How should we go forward?
-Does anyone have any insights on what the root cause of this is? Is it a result of the age gap between the oldest GLW's and the youngest SLW's? Is it a result of keeping them separated as pullets for so long due to their size differences? Is it that 2 had feathered feet and 6 didn't? Is it just dietary?
The two attached photos show some of the chickens' back/parson's nose area to give a visual of how far up and where the feather picking has occurred. Thanks for taking the time to read all this and for any advice you can provide!
Our Setup: Our hens are 6-7 months old. They are all standard-size birds. They were on layer crumbles at 18% protein, but we switched to high protein layer pellets at 20% protein 2 days ago. Their feed has never been below 18% protein. They have free choice grit and oyster shells, along with a flock block and a 5 gallon water bucket. The henhouse is 4'x8' and the run is 8'x10'. They do not free range. We do not have multiple feeder or waterer stations, just a single bucket for water with 6 cups and a single bucket for food with 6 cups. We use sand in the henhouse and a mixture of dirt and sand in the run. We have added chopped straw to the run for winter. They all lay frequently, but have slowed down because of winter. We are in Northern Utah, so we have some cold winters, although it's been mild so far. The chickens' poop has looked normal. We don't believe there are any mites/lice involved.
Situation: It is our first time raising chickens and we originally got 8. We got 2 three-week-old Gold Laced Wyandottes. On that same day, we went to another feed store and got a Black Australorp and a Lavender Orpington, they were both day-old chicks. We brought them home and put them in the brooder and there were no issues that we could see. 1 week later, we got 2 Light Brahmas that were day-old and put them with the other 4. Don't recall having any issues then, either. 1 week after we got the Light Brahmas, we got 2 Silver Laced Wyandottes that were day-old from a friend as a birthday gift. We built an addition to our brooder because the coop wasn't quite ready and the GLW's were getting big. When we added the SLW's, the Gold Laced showed some aggression towards the Silver Laced. It is important to note that there was no blood drawn at this stage. Out of caution, however, we decided to separate the 6 younger chicks (Australorp, Orpington, 2 Light Brahmas, and 2 SLW's) from the 2 GLW's. They were separated for several weeks until the coop was ready. We kept them separated that entire time because the SLW's were still small, and we were afraid of them getting pecked on by the GLW's because of their size.
When the coop was ready, we reunited all 8 chickens. We expected normal pecking order behavior to occur, but it seemed everyone was settling in fine. No feather picking on the parson's nose or back was taking place at this point. The first issue we encountered was with feather picking of the Light Brahmas' feet feathers. We assume this was started by the GLW's, who had never seen feet feathers due to their long separation from the rest of the flock. Eventually, though, the other 4 chickens joined the GLW's in plucking them, and this was the first time blood was drawn. One Brahma had far fewer feathers on her feet, so we treated with Pick No More and she remained in the coop. The other Brahma had many more feathers on her feet, resulting in an injury that was much more bloody and required treatment and isolation away from the coop. When they pick their feet feathers, they are almost always pin/blood feathers. While the injured Brahma was recovering, one GLW began feather picking the rest in the coop on their parson's nose area. We knew who it was, because all had their regular feathers broken and their downy feathers showing, except for the bully. The bully GLW did pull a blood feather on one of the SLW's back and we treated with Pick No More and left her in the coop. (That feather did not get touched after that.) At this point we made the decision to re-home the 2 GLW's, thinking this would solve our issue.
A few days after re-homing the GLW's, we discovered our Australorp bleeding, with several tail feathers pulled just above her vent. We treated her and put her in isolation to recover. We then spent some serious time observing the coop and realized that all the chickens have learned to feather pick. It seems that they are all doing it to each other now! It is all of them, not just a bully, and it is fairly constant. Even the chickens who get picked will turn around at pick at the others. Please help! We are exhausted, frustrated, and heartbroken at how complicated these backyard chickens have turned out to be. Why does no one tell you these kinds of things may happen?
Questions:
We have read posts by people with similar issues and often commenters suggest the chickens may be protein deficient, and are eating the feathers to get the protein they need. Ours eat a few feathers, but leave some on the ground as well. But just in case this was the issue, we switched to 20% high protein feed and they have been eating it for 2 days now.
-How long would the chickens have to be on the 20% high protein feed to see if the feather picking stops?
We have sat in the run with the Orpington, SLW's, and one of our Light Brahmas with a cobweb duster to break up any fighting or pecking. It has not seemed to discourage them from feather picking, it only prevents the fighting from getting out of hand, and we obviously can't be there every moment of the day.
-Can this feather picking behavior be "unlearned" or is there no going back?
We currently have a low roost bar out in the run as well as some scattered toys that they can pick on. They can also jump on top of the waterer and feeder lids and a ramp. We have also given them a flock block and chopped straw that really helps distract them. It seems like they are distracted 99% of the time but we run into issues that other 1%.
-Do we need to add more distractions to keep them from pecking at each other?
These chickens are pets to us, but understand if the best thing to do is re-home them. We don't feel comfortable trying to use pinless peepers with them, or culling them. The one Light Brahma that has been in isolation has not learned to pick the parson's nose feathers. If we must re-home the ones that have learned it, can we keep her in the coop alone through the winter and in the spring let her mother a batch of new baby chicks? If the advice is to not re-home any of them, what specific steps do we take to reintroduce our feather-footed Light Brahma to her flock mates again, after such a long isolation?
-How should we go forward?
-Does anyone have any insights on what the root cause of this is? Is it a result of the age gap between the oldest GLW's and the youngest SLW's? Is it a result of keeping them separated as pullets for so long due to their size differences? Is it that 2 had feathered feet and 6 didn't? Is it just dietary?
The two attached photos show some of the chickens' back/parson's nose area to give a visual of how far up and where the feather picking has occurred. Thanks for taking the time to read all this and for any advice you can provide!
