It can be one of the less attractive aspects of chicken keeping. No-one likes a bully, and seeing one of your favourites being pecked for no apparent reason can change the way you feel about the chicken(s) who are doing the pecking.
Although the chicken being pecked on probably wouldn’t agree, especially if things have turned nasty, it is a normal part of chicken life.
Feather pecking is a behavioral issue and gentle feather pecking is often taken to be normal investigatory behavior where the feathers of the victim are hardly disturbed.
You may have noticed some of this investigatory pecking happening to you, perhaps with shoelaces, or toes (best not to wear sandals) being pecked as you were standing near them – I’ve been a little more careful bending over near since receiving a peck on my bottom whilst I was squatting which made me lose my balance into a deposit nearby. Those kinds of pecks don’t really hurt, your chickens are just exploring what is around them.
Severe pecking on the other hand may involve grasping and even pulling out of some feathers. This is of course painful to the receiving bird and its end results could be trauma of the skin or bleeding. Then the redness of the skin or blood if the pecking was particularly severe itself becomes attractive to them and can escalate into everyone joining in…and chickens can be pretty relentless…
…so much so it can end in death.
Usually, feather pecking starts on the back feathers and with time it progresses to the tail and then eventually throughout the body. It can happen when they are roosting at night as well as during the day when they are out and about, but the reasons for it can vary.
Causes Of Feather Pecking
The possibility of a nutritional deficiency is one of the first things to be considered. Hens are used to ground pecking, scratching and foraging for food. However, often domestic hens are kept in an enclosed environment that is usually relatively barren and so will have restricted foraging opportunities. More than that, the feed they get is nutrient dense and can be consumed in a few minutes compared to the hours it would have taken in normal foraging time to find insects or worms.
Feathers have protein in them (and also require protein to grow back) and so if you notice that the feathers are actually being eaten that may mean that they are plucking at the feathers and then eating them because of their instinct to get more protein into their diet.
At least that is how it may have started, once these sorts of behaviours have begun they can become a habit for them if we are not careful.
Boredom is another explanation offered as to why hens peck at each other. When the weather is bad or they generally are penned in a small area for whatever reason, the activity of the hens such as foraging and dust bathing are limited. And in efforts to break boredom, the hens can start to peck at each other.
Finding interesting ways to serve their food and treats so that they can still do some foraging can be more entertaining for them (and you to watch).
Consider hanging a cabbage or some leaves of kales or a cob of maize slightly above their heads so that they are able to jump and peck at it. Adding a ladder in their cage or some roosts etc. for them to clamber about on and perch could also help keep them more occupied.
When the housing of your hens starts to feel a bit cramped, then there are high chances that they may start feather pecking. Crowding increases stress levels in poultry and as has already been mentioned, hens love to forage and scratch and peck the ground. If there is not enough room for them to do this, then the chances of a pecking war breaking out increases.
Hens also love to lay their eggs in dark and secluded areas rather than in direct light. Hens will fight for the favorable nests, and it may add to problem if there are too few nests or too few that are nicely secluded and scuffling for nest boxes could potentially lead to broken eggs and egg eating.
Having said that though, even with plenty of perfectly good nests you will often find them all trying to cram themselves into the same one or two favourite ones, but still it is something to bear in mind, if you find you are having thoses kinds of problems.
To reduce and manage feather pecking, ensure that :
- You feed your hens a balanced diet packed with all the necessary nutrients (if feeding scratch it should be only as a treat).
- You select less flighty hen breeds if they are not going to be able to free-range regularly.
- Your housing and husbandry meets all the needs and requirements of the hens in order to manage their stress levels.
- They are free of parasites – chickens might pull at their own feathers if they are feeling itchy.
Around the vent and under the wings are key places to check.
Thank you for the information about dealing with chickens pecking each other. We’re raising our second batch of chickens and the first batch didn’t peck until one was attacked by a cat and I put her back with the others too soon in her healing process. She is still separate because I’m afraid she’ll get pecked again in an area that was too injured to regrow feathers. Three of my newest pullets have been pecked since they’ve been molting. They’re my three smallest, possibly bantams. They’re separated until they heal, and then I may house them together separate from the others. I’ve taken some notes and am adding some of your suggestions to entertain them and give them extra protein to my shopping list.
Thank you again from this slightly freaked-out chicken owner.
I have two bantams, a New Hampshire Red and a Light Sussex. The NHR has pecked all around the neck of the LS to the point where she is now quite bald. They have a good sized coop with an enclosed run, and free range on the garden whenever we are at home to keep an eye on them. What can I do about it?
In case it is a nutritional urge that is driving the feather pecking you could try giving them a poultry vitamin / nutrient supplement or something like treats of black oil sunflower seeds as those can help reduce the urges to peck at and eat feathers. Another possibility may be that it has become a bit of a hobby for your New Hampshire Red and giving her something else to do – like hanging a cabbage in the run for example – may take her attentions away from pecking. Otherwise it may come down to deterrents such as the anti-peck sprays which can be purchased in feed stores and/or online at hatcheries and poultry supply websites.
Hello,
I am at the point where I am willing to do anything to save our chickens.
We have tried virtually everything you mentioned in your great article.
However, of our 9 chickens that are approaching a year old now, 7 of the 9 are missing back/tail feathers and also some under their vents. We spray the bluecote and have checked for mites but really don’t see any.
They are just relentless with each other! To the point where they are inflammed and bleeding. Can you give me more info on the spray to stop them from pecking?
Thanks for your help.
There are several different anti-peck sprays available. Most generally work by disguising the redness of the blood so that the wounds are not as attractive to peck at and also they are designed to taste bad so that the chickens should be put off continuing to peck.
what type spray is this that you use and does it do any harm to the chickens.
This did not help me I knew all of that but what I wanted to know was why are there white dots on my hens feathers sticking them together. Do you have a conclusion for that, by the way if it helps the hen is a Poland.
White dots could be lice eggs. They tend to clump together at the base of the feathers.
Well suppose you tell the peckers that if they do not leave the others alone that they will wind up in turchickduck..or maybe for sunday dinner…my chickens stopped laying and I informed them that production had to be increased or I was going to start frying some of them and the next day production increased…some say animals do not understand humans but I think perhaps that they understand more than we humans think….of course I started including more oyster shells with their diet…that helped……but pigs are another matter altogether…..I just
spent oh heck, I don’t know how much for pig starter and then pig finisher and cracked corn….well, I had a bar that weighed almost 300 pounds…finally got it into the trailer and took it to the butcher….I just talked to him today and he said that there was almost 200 pounds of meat on the bar at approx <79 cents a pound...ouch...from now on I am going pig hunting in the natl forest.....but in the meantime anybody up for a bbq...we’re having very expensive pig..oink
Have an issue with one of my hens. Have 6 hens year and half old. Run is 25 ft by 25 ft, coop is 5 ft by 4 ft with addition 4 ft by 4 ft. Two nesting boxes. They go after one hen, seems to be molting. Feed them grain, scraps, weeds from my garden every day. I do not use chemicals. There is mulch in the run. Planning to clean out run this fall, replace with new mulch and leaves.