I hope someone can help me with this! I have three new chickens (now 16 weeks old) and have been in the process of integrating them to my existing flock of three chickens (each about 17 months old) for the last several weeks. Today I noticed that one of the existing chickens, a Maran, has started to loose feathers and I'm wondering if it may be related to the stress of introducing the new pullets. The feathers that she is losing are mainly the soft fluffy ones on her back side and around her vent. I checked for mites or parasites but couldn't see any and her vent looks normal. She is laying daily, too.
I had the pullets in a temporary run right next to the main run for about 3 weeks and about 10 days ago moved them into a separated area in the main run. The pullets have been staying in this area during the day and after the three older chickens go to roost in the coop I put the pullets into a covered dog crate in the run so they are more protected at night. The pullets go back into their separate run when the older chickens are let out of the coop in the morning. Things have been going well with everyone during this "see but don't touch" stage so 3 days ago I began letting the two groups out to free range together for a bit each day. In general the older chickens and pullets go their separate ways when they're out but the Maran (who is loosing feathers) is definitely at the top of the pecking order and she has gone after the young ones several times so they know she is the boss. Today she was following the young ones around quite a lot and they kept their distance so there wasn't any real fighting. I've read that feather loss can occur when new chickens are added to an existing flock so am thinking that is probably what is going on but am wondering what I should do or if things will improve on their own in a few days. I can certainly stop having the young ones free range with the older chickens and keep them in their separate run for a longer period of time if that is what would be best.
I'm sure this has happened for others so truly appreciate any help with this! Thank you!
I had the pullets in a temporary run right next to the main run for about 3 weeks and about 10 days ago moved them into a separated area in the main run. The pullets have been staying in this area during the day and after the three older chickens go to roost in the coop I put the pullets into a covered dog crate in the run so they are more protected at night. The pullets go back into their separate run when the older chickens are let out of the coop in the morning. Things have been going well with everyone during this "see but don't touch" stage so 3 days ago I began letting the two groups out to free range together for a bit each day. In general the older chickens and pullets go their separate ways when they're out but the Maran (who is loosing feathers) is definitely at the top of the pecking order and she has gone after the young ones several times so they know she is the boss. Today she was following the young ones around quite a lot and they kept their distance so there wasn't any real fighting. I've read that feather loss can occur when new chickens are added to an existing flock so am thinking that is probably what is going on but am wondering what I should do or if things will improve on their own in a few days. I can certainly stop having the young ones free range with the older chickens and keep them in their separate run for a longer period of time if that is what would be best.
I'm sure this has happened for others so truly appreciate any help with this! Thank you!
