[Frizzle1]

I need some advice please on one of my leghorns.For some unknown reason she has starting to eat whole feathers. There is lots of feathers in the bottom of the coop but don't know if she's also feather plucking or are they in moult.Will this feather eating habit do her any harm,she's swallowing them whole worried about the long term affects on her health,please advise.

[Lindeggs]

Hi Frizzle, what are you feeding your hens?  Sometimes feather eating can begin as a result of something lacking in their diret (such as proteins or amino acids) and sometimes it can be a result of boredom and then become a habit that's hard to break.

Make sure your hens have a good quality balanced feed, such as layers' pellets or mash.  Put it in a feeder so they can eat it any time of the day, to be sure everyone is getting enough.

You could also add some bird multi-vitamins for an extra boost (I understand Poultry Spice contains extra vitamins and minerals).

Also make sure they have plenty to keep them occupied in their run, such as perches to jump on and off during the day, soil they can scratch in, etc.  Extra 'toys' such as leaf litter, wood chips, a bale of hay or hanging vegetables can also help reduce boredom.

[sneezer]

As long as they are not pulling the feathers out to eat I wouldn't worry too much, if mine see a loose feather on the ground due to moult they gobble them down! I could tell if they were moulting by when they shook lots of feathers flew off.

[Frizzle1]

Well thank you for your replys.They are fed layers pellets from a hopper that holds a whole sack,it's there all the time,layers mash once a week.Marriages grit all the time.They also have two perches.During the day they are out of the coop and free ranging.I can only say they don't have vitamins,maybe I should try that. They also love a corn on the cob hung from their perch now and again keeps them happy for ages bless erm.