I have 2 Barred Rocks that are 2.5 yrs old. Both have gone through their molts. One is further ahead in recovery of it than the other, but all feather dropping from them pretty much ceased, and their new feathers are mostly in. The first one started the beginning of Oct. I also have 2- 18 month old Black Australorps, one of which is going through her first molt. Today, I saw a ton of BR feathers in the coop....again. And they are the larger ones, like tail and flight feathers. Can they go through twice like that?? Never seen this before. Also, the BA, who is normally a sweet hen, is a nasty witch during this molt. If my hand is anywhere near her (AKA cleaning and she comes to see what I'm doing) she stretches up tall as if to challenge me, and is, and swipes at me. Please tell me she'll return to her usual self after the molt is done. I know not to handle them during it...looks painful enough as it is. Thanks for any insight.
Two molts back to back?
- Thread starter Jaxdrisc
- Start date
junebuggena
Crowing
It's entirely possible that you have a hen that molts in bits and pieces. Just when you think she's done, there go more feathers from a different spot. I've got a few like that. It makes their molting season drag on for what seems like forever.
I have twenty-three chickens in various stages of molt, and if I so much as touch one, oh the profanity! I will utter a few choice words, myself.
Yes, they will return to their default personality after the feathers all grow out, and they will also be much more full of life instead of the moping around they do during molt.
Some zip through a complete molt in as little as a month. I have one hen who has been molting since August, and she's still not completed it yet.
An interesting thing in my flock that I've noticed is the roosters are very discrete as they molt. They don't seem to get the thread bare appearance the hens have, and it seems that overnight, they're sporting a new set of feathers without having really molted. Anyone else notice that with their roos?
Yes, they will return to their default personality after the feathers all grow out, and they will also be much more full of life instead of the moping around they do during molt.
Some zip through a complete molt in as little as a month. I have one hen who has been molting since August, and she's still not completed it yet.
An interesting thing in my flock that I've noticed is the roosters are very discrete as they molt. They don't seem to get the thread bare appearance the hens have, and it seems that overnight, they're sporting a new set of feathers without having really molted. Anyone else notice that with their roos?
junebuggena
Crowing
Yep. My 18 month old rooster is molting, and I could barely tell. I didn't notice he was molting until he lost his tail feathers.
- Thread starter
- #5
As always from this group, excellent feedback! Good to know my once very sweet hen is still in there somewhere! She is one hot molting mess! Also good to know that one of the others is molting in stages. I thought both lost a lot of feathers, and had definite naked spots during it, but I guess there are more to lose. And they are the really large ones, not all the smaller and fluffier ones from a few weeks ago. Interesting that. Thanks everyone!
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