[mickwood]

So...my pekin is moulting a wee bit and there's a few feathers laying about but both the pekin and the silkie keep eating the smaller feathers!? Is this normal? or even healthy!?!?  :shock:

[GrannieAnnie]

Hi Mick, yes they all do it.  We often see a hen running around with  feather in its mouth, with the rest of the flock chasng it!  there's a lot of protein (I think it is) in the feathers, and there's an oil gland at the base of the tail, so I'm not sure if the other feathers get that oil, so it is natural, but it still bothers me to see them doing it, then I wonder if that is what starts them feather pecking each other???

[kimT]

Mine do that too!....................its normal so don't worry.

[Aunt Sally]

It's a waste of good protein not to eat them  

[mickwood]

Phew...I mean....yeah...I wasn't worrying......honest  :?

       

[kimT]

Well, you think feather chomping is bad one of my hens had a lump of scaley on one of her legs so I treated it and when it fell off there was an almighty scrap and they ate it.:shock:

[azubah]

I'm just glad that they are smaller than us or they would eat us!
They are very food orientated. I get my legs pecked whenever I go near the food bin. They are trying to get me to hurry up.
My old hen used to get her feathers pulled out and eaten by her companion. I had to put one of those rings in her beak.