Eglu Cube, auto door, walk in run for sale South West London

[Felonie]

I have 4 girls in a cube with an extention run, I use Hemcore in the run. I feed them layers mash in the morning with cooked vegetable peelings and s"Ooops, word censored!"s. In the afternoon, I give them fresh greens and sometimes corn on the cob. Before bedtime they have a handful of mixed corn for each chicken. I also give dried mealworms for a treat. The girls seem happy, they droppings are fine and they have access to fresh water. The have access to grit and I sometimes add poultry spice to their mash.

 

I noticed about a month ago that one of the girls was loosing her feathers around the breast bone and thought as I had found a feather in the nest box, perhaps she was going broody. She has continued to loose feathers right down to the vent and the other girls are now starting to do the same. I have checked them all for mites and can see nothing, also the skin on the girls appears to be unbroken.

 

I have treated the girls and the nestbox with mite powder as a precaution. I have not seen them pulling their feathers out but my other half says he has seen them do it to eachother. My thought were it could be either infestation, inadequate diet or overcrowding but I am at a loss to understand what it can be. The girls all seem happy, bright and active. Any ideas from anyone will be appreciated.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

It sounds like they live a life of luxury . Feather plucking does sound more likely than beasties, especially if your OH has witnessed it and they seem well otherwise . It could be down to boredom - do you have any perches or platforms or other things to keep them entertained in the run? Do you hang the sweetcorn up? Do they get any freeranging time? Sorry, that looks like an inquisition . You obviously care for them very well but perhaps they need something else to pass the time .

[chickyhazel]

Chickens love perches and stuff like that, which might help. If they are reluctant to go on them, put some food containers up there! Our chickens did that when we introduced newbies to establish dominance, so we had to separate them about 3 times! Have you just introduced newbies?

 

Hazel, Ranger, Audi, Porsche, RIP Chestnut

[Felonie]

I do have a spike hanging from the wire roof that I put a cabbage on, I will try to see if I can put something in there to give them different levels, I would like to find something plastic so I can easily clean it, maybe a shelving unit with different levels.

 

It may be nothing to do with it but it seemed to start after I started useing the hemcore. I had been using woodchip but ran out and the only woodchip I could get was wet so I opted for Hemcore.

 

Will now look for shelving and let you know how it goes

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Ikea shoe racks are ideal, if you happen to have any lying around .

[Alis girls]

Apart from the above what other toys can you get for chucks - or are the edible variety the only ones? I wanted to know as mine will only FR when I am here ie mid- late afternoon. Just wanted to know so I can get some bits in advance.

[Sheilaz]

It doesn't sounds as if you are going wrong at all!

 

Could they be moulting? There's a lot of info. on that if you haven't seen it before.

 

If they are also feather eating, an increase in protein can help. My feed supplier suggested quail feed as a supplement, I think it was a good idea.

 

Keeping up the mite prevention measures is really good anyway. Let us know how you get along.

[Sandychick]

What you describe sound just like my Pepper. She had a bald tummy and a bald head! She looked a right mess, but it was just a moult - Her feathers are all growing back nicely. They do peck about at their feathers when the new ones grow back - think it irritates them a bit.

[Chicken Licken]

My chicken Barry does not get on well with hemcore- very red and sore tummy, lost all her feathers from her under carriage. I'm not sure if it was because I had it in the nest box and she slept in it and it was too sharp - or an allergy to it or the citronella it was treated with. I changed to chopped straw and since Christmas she has regrown her feathers and is looking about a 100 times more presentable. I also got some flowers of sulphur cream that I rub on her tummy and undercarriage if they are looking sore and this seems to work a treat. Maybe this could be the case for you. No feather pulling here as she is top girl

[Stevie]

Sounds similiar to what my old Omlet Pepperpot had.Her underside was red,featherless and sore looking which im sure was due to having a reaction to the straw in nestbox,but her biggest problem was she used to sleep in it at night.I changed to woodflakes and it started to get better-until a fox got them that is.

[Felonie]

Well thanks for all the tips and advice, I have just bought a new bale of hemcore and I am not sure if I should use it. Any suggestions for the run would be helpful. I liked the woodchip but at this time of year it is wet.. Maybe one of the big DIY chains will sell suitable bedding. I did put hemcore in the nestbox but will remove it first thing tomorrow although I must say, they do not sleep in the nestbox. The saga continues....................

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I've never had any problems with Hemcore. I suppose you could use it but just watch to see if there are any adverse effects?