Chicken losing feathers--is this normal? (pictures included)

[frog522]

Thanks for the reassuring responses that she is molting! She lost even more feathers since the pictures were taken yesterday morning...now she looks even more scruffy and doesn't have any tail feathers at all! She looks quite ridiculous.

I have a few questions about molting that maybe some of you can help answer:

-- Are nutritional requirements different for chickens when they're molting and growing back new feathers? I am still giving her laying crumble, free access to oyster shell, and BOSS.
-- I noticed my chicken will occasionally eats loose feathers. Is this normal?
-- How long does it take chickens to grow back their feathers?
-- What is the best way to clean up feathers in the coop and run!? They are quite messy and are everywhere! (And I only have 1 chicken, I can't imagine how many loose feathers a molting flock would produce!)
-- Do any of you save the loose feathers?

 

[motherhenmindy]

When my chicks were about 17-18 weeks old they must have had a molt and I had no idea. I just noticed an explosion of feathers and they were everywhere, in my yard, in their coop. I raked many of them up, once they were in the grass it was kind of hard though. In the coop, I took the shop vac to them and cleaned up pretty quickly. I thought it would be a regular part of the clean up routine, but it was just a juvenile molt and there are rarely any feathers around now. I'm sure it would be ok to leave them but I thought it looked really messy and messed up my back yard badly.

 

[mychookschick]

-- Are nutritional requirements different for chickens when they're molting and growing back new feathers? I am still giving her laying crumble, free access to oyster shell, and BOSS. No, your chicken should be fine... Some people do supplement, but I don't find it necessary.
-- I noticed my chicken will occasionally eats loose feathers. Is this normal? Yes, this is a very normal reaction. She probably needs some of the vitamins from old feathers to form the new ones. This is why I don't supplement. They do it themselves.
-- How long does it take chickens to grow back their feathers? Well, it depends on the chicken, but I have one that has been growing her new feathers in for about a month.
-- What is the best way to clean up feathers in the coop and run!? They are quite messy and are everywhere! (And I only have 1 chicken, I can't imagine how many loose feathers a molting flock would produce!) Umm, I usually just leave them for the chickens to eat, and then when I clean the coop and run, I just scoop them out with the shavings.
-- Do any of you save the loose feathers? I haven't ever saved hens feathers, but in the past I have saved rooster tail feathers and made quill pens out of them. you might be able to use her tail feathers, though. It looks like she has a pretty long tail


Hope this helps!

 

[so lucky]

Quote:
Funny post!!

 

[frog522]

Here is a picture update on my chicken going through her first major molt. She lost all her tail feathers! Pin feathers are growing out all over but are most visible underneath her wing...kind of gnarly!

 

[juliawitt]

I think she's still very attractive! Hard molters, or those who loose alot of feathers at once, are the best egg layers. I have one who looks the same way. She's pretty grumpy too! I guess I'm grumpy when I have a bad hair day, so she can be grumpy cause her feathers are going awry. Keep up the good work, she'll be fine....