Is this a normal size for easter egger 5 1/2 months

[SourRoses]

I just checked her, found out it was one of our much older hens who would get into fights with her over food, she is almost 6 months, our older hen is around 1 1/2 years.

Okay, good you now know who the culprit is...
How many feeders so you have out?
Try blocking the sight lines between the feeders with solid objects... it can be anything from plastic tubs / leaning panels of wood / lawn chairs / etc. All sorts of stuff makes for good "run litter" but make sure it's placed in a safe way, and that a picked on hen can escape in at least two directions if the bully comes around.

What often happens is bully hens decide the victim should not eat and they run between the feeders shooing them from each one. To combat it you need to have more feeding locations and less sight between them so the bossy older hen will just focus on her own snacks for longer periods.

With juveniles in our flock and a cranky 5 year old bossy gal, we have 6 feeders out as spread as they can be... not all are visually blocked but enough are that even the most timid birds can access food.
We did similar with the water too... 3 separate water stations spread out.

 

[Hens24]

Her tail is concerning to me. She should already be in her final feathers until next summer.
So, who is yanking her feathers out?
Stress can be a big deterrent keeping hens from laying. The whole egg cycle depends on a complex cascade of hormones, when stress hormones are added to the cocktail it just messes everything up.

I checked on her feathers, it turns out also that the angle of the picture makes it look a bit strange, but she acts like a normal hen except for laying. Is there

Okay, good you now know who the culprit is...
How many feeders so you have out?
Try blocking the sight lines between the feeders with solid objects... it can be anything from plastic tubs / leaning panels of wood / lawn chairs / etc. All sorts of stuff makes for good "run litter" but make sure it's placed in a safe way, and that a picked on hen can escape in at least two directions if the bully comes around.

What often happens is bully hens decide the victim should not eat and they run between the feeders shooing them from each one. To combat it you need to have more feeding locations and less sight between them so the bossy older hen will just focus on her own snacks for longer periods.

With juveniles in our flock and a cranky 5 year old bossy gal, we have 6 feeders out as spread as they can be... not all are visually blocked but enough are that even the most timid birds can access food.
We did similar with the water too... 3 separate water stations spread out.

We have 2 places to feed them, after I found out the older hens tend to pick on our young EE, we decided it would be better to separate their feeding, so we'd lead the older ones to one bucket of food, then put another bucket of food away from them and the EE would catch on go eat over there. That sounds like a good idea, so long as they're not hurt or put under stress, they seem to have a lot of energy with the way they climb on top of everything.

 

[SourRoses]

We feed them oyster shells, cracked corn, layer feed and oats.

Layer feed has the bare minimum recommended protein - 16%. Once you further dilute that with assorted grains like corn and oats, now your flock is not getting enough protein.
Feathers are made of protein, so they can be very weak when the bird doesn't get enough. Adequate protein supports the genetic rate of growth, so getting less can be harmful in that department as well.

Like a lot of members, I feed a 20% All Flock / Grower with oyster shell on the side so they can manage their own calcium intake. That results in healthier feathers and optimal growth.

If you somehow need to feed a 16% layer, for cost or if some don't manage their calcium well (rare)... then you should feed it exclusively with no other grains or treats to dilute the protein level of the layer. Hope this helps!

 

[ShrekDawg]

I would stop the corn and oats. Treats should be no more than 10% of the diet.

 

[SourRoses]

I checked on her feathers, it turns out also that the angle of the picture makes it look a bit strange, but she acts like a normal hen except for laying.

Understandable that it might look that way, but there are some downy areas exposed on her tail which shows she's supposed to have more feathers... sometimes bully chickens will yank feathers out, and they often eat them. It can become a very bad habit. It's more likely for that to happen on a low protein diet as well, so I'm pretty sure that's what's happening. Keep an eye on your other hens tails / necks / beards and look for signs of missing feathers. If you see them loose in the coop that's okay as some hens over a year old will still be going through their molt.

 

[Hens24]

Her tail is concerning to me. She should already be in her final feathers until next summer.
So, who is yanking her feathers out?
Stress can be a big deterrent keeping hens from laying. The whole egg cycle depends on a complex cascade of hormones, when stress hormones are added to the cocktail it just messes

Layer feed has the bare minimum recommended protein - 16%. Once you further dilute that with assorted grains like corn and oats, now your flock is not getting enough protein.
Feathers are made of protein, so they can be very weak when the bird doesn't get enough. Adequate protein supports the genetic rate of growth, so getting less can be harmful in that department as well.

Like a lot of members, I feed a 20% All Flock / Grower with oyster shell on the side so they can manage their own calcium intake. That results in healthier feathers and optimal growth.

If you somehow need to feed a 16% layer, for cost or if some don't manage their calcium well (rare)... then you should feed it exclusively with no other grains or treats to dilute the protein level of the layer. Hope this helps!

Thank you! Wish I had known that. I know oyster shells and egg shells tend to help a lot with protein, so I try to overcompensate by adding more oyster shells than the percentage of the rest of the food. I could try your advice, see if it helps them any or with their size.

 

[Hens24]

Understandable that it might look that way, but there are some downy areas exposed on her tail which shows she's supposed to have more feathers... sometimes bully chickens will yank feathers out, and they often eat them. It can become a very bad habit. It's more likely for that to happen on a low protein diet as well, so I'm pretty sure that's what's happening. Keep an eye on your other hens tails / necks / beards and look for signs of missing feathers. If you see them loose in the coop that's okay as some hens over a year old will still be going through their molt.

Yeah, I had also seen that happening awhile ago actually. One of our older hens had kept grabbing at her which I had to remove them from each other. I'm guessing her missing feathers are most definitely from her being pecked at/bullied.

 

[Hens24]

I would stop the corn and oats. Treats should be no more than 10% of the diet.

I think that's a good idea. I'm thinking of filling their food with more layer feed and oyster shells, it seems to help with their egg production as well.

 

[ShrekDawg]

I think that's a good idea. I'm thinking of filling their food with more layer feed and oyster shells, it seems to help with their egg production as well.

That would be a good idea!!!

 

[SourRoses]

Thank you! Wish I had known that. I know oyster shells and egg shells tend to help a lot with protein, so I try to overcompensate by adding more oyster shells than the percentage of the rest of the food. I could try your advice, see if it helps them any or with their size.

Sure thing!
The oyster shells are a source of calcium. All of the meat is cleaned off of them so there's no protein left. The layer feed has adequate calcium for any laying, but it may be too much for the growing pullet(s).
Any hens who have started to lay will not grow further, but pullets before pol (point of lay) are usually still growing / filling out.
I was reading something the other day about how their bones grow, and there's a special layer of bone meant for lending calcium to egg shells and being built back up again. The source said that if pullets were exposed to high calcium too early, it can sometimes result in problems managing calcium through their laying lifetime. Meaning she could potentially have issues with soft shelled eggs. It can also be hard on other organs. Something to just keep an eye on. Hopefully all will be well.