paulad Posted July 3, 2013 Share Posted July 3, 2013 Hi again **Newbie alert** !!! My chucks have starting pulling each others feathers and eating them ?? Don't think its a pecking order thing as they pretty much know where they stand Could they be deficient in something in their diets ??? thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted July 3, 2013 Share Posted July 3, 2013 assuming it's not a boredom issue they it could be a sign of protein deficient I think that's the main thing feathers are made of. check that the feed isn't out of date or nearly out of date Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulad Posted July 3, 2013 Author Share Posted July 3, 2013 don't think its out of date as we only had the chucks 3 weeks or so and was a brand new sack of food ?? what extra can I give them if it is protein deffiency ?? what could we do to stop them being bored ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimi5 Posted July 3, 2013 Share Posted July 3, 2013 Hi there! You could give them some meal worms...they will love you forever!!! But go careful, not too many! Re boredom, do they have a dust bath? Can you let them out for a supervised free range each day? Do you have perches for them in their run? Could you hang up some veg? fruit in the afternoon? Hope the feather eating settles down for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulad Posted July 3, 2013 Author Share Posted July 3, 2013 Yes they LOVE mealworms - its how we get them back in at night if they are being cheeky !! so most nights !! yes they have dust baths and free range when we are home...They have a trunk stump in their run and we try to hang veg most days sounds like we are doing it right - its not nice to watch though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
good_egg Posted July 3, 2013 Share Posted July 3, 2013 We feed ours a small tin of tuna in spring water - not brine!! I buy the little Tina with the foil lids and just peel back and set down and count to 10 and they have finished Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulad Posted July 3, 2013 Author Share Posted July 3, 2013 oooh really I will try that I do worry that we are giving them quite a lot of treats though ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
good_egg Posted July 3, 2013 Share Posted July 3, 2013 Too many can cause problems... I think 5% or 10% is max recommended. Mine get tuna at weekend, I argue it's good for a protein boost... They get a small scattering of corn or kippen mix (garvo treat) on a plastic ikea plate to get them back in after FR or fed by hand... They also get veg hung up if they are going to be in all day (but no treat mix/corn)... Seem fine on this amount. I do also trick them by making the pellets they don't eat into porridge that they go mad for even thought it just food with water added! Hope that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted July 4, 2013 Share Posted July 4, 2013 don't think its out of date as we only had the chucks 3 weeks or so and was a brand new sack of food ??it could be a bad habit they pick up before you had them .I had to change a supplier after I brought a bag of feed that had a really short use by date they had to but a minimum amount but at the time didn't sell enough what extra can I give them if it is protein deffiency ?? what could we do to stop them being bored ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
