Feather loss.

[lagrange chicks]

One of my bared rocks has been loosing feathers, I see she lost some tail feathers and a bunch on the back of her neck. She is just over 8 months old. I do see new feathers coming in on the back of her neck. I noticed her comb is a little pale compared to her flock mates, is that normal when a chicken molts?

 

[TooCheep]

One of my bared rocks has been loosing feathers, I see she lost some tail feathers and a bunch on the back of her neck. She is just over 8 months old. I do see new feathers coming in on the back of her neck. I noticed her comb is a little pale compared to her flock mates, is that normal when a chicken molts?

That all sounds like a typical molt. She is concentrating resources on growing new feathers. It is rather cold at this time of year, so make sure she has places to stay out of any wind. Also, see if you can get her extra protein (scrambled eggs, cat food, higher protein feed, etc) to help her grow in those feathers as quickly as possible.

Molting hens stop laying and she likely won't restart until daylight gets longer- maybe February.

 

[TooCheep]

You might want to browse this thread to get an idea of what severe molting looks like. They are not common, but you may run into one of these sooner or later.

Post Your Best (Worst) Chicken Molt Pictures - 2023

 

[lagrange chicks]

That all sounds like a typical molt. She is concentrating resources on growing new feathers. It is rather cold at this time of year, so make sure she has places to stay out of any wind. Also, see if you can get her extra protein (scrambled eggs, cat food, higher protein feed, etc) to help her grow in those feathers as quickly as possible.

Molting hens stop laying and she likely won't restart until daylight gets longer- maybe February.

Thanks for the reply, she has stopped laying (my best layer), I do have the sides of there run covered in plastic. I worry about her being cold it was 13 F this morning. Which kind of cat food?

 

[TooCheep]

Thanks for the reply, she has stopped laying (my best layer), I do have the sides of there run covered in plastic. I worry about her being cold it was 13 F this morning. Which kind of cat food?

Can't say as I've never used it. That is something others recommend from experience. I guess some canned (instead of kibble), but you should probably search the site for better answers. I use a high-protein feed and scrambled eggs.

 

[tlcmurphy]

You could also switch them to Grower or All Flock feed while they’re molting, try to target 20% protein to help with feather growth.
Don’t these poor birds just look awful when they molt

 

[TooCheep]

Some are *much* worse than others. Mostly I feel for those that lose their feathers late in the year and then encounter real cold.

 

[tlcmurphy]

I’ve got a Welsummer that looks like something chewed on her, I feel bad for all chickens this time of year!

 

[lagrange chicks]

Can't say as I've never used it. That is something others recommend from experience. I guess some canned (instead of kibble), but you should probably search the site for better answers. I use a high-protein feed and scrambled eggs.

You could also switch them to Grower or All Flock feed while they’re molting, try to target 20% protein to help with feather growth.
Don’t these poor birds just look awful when they molt

They slowed to a egg or 2 a day right now, i would have to buy some. I had just switched back to layer from all flock since I butchered my cockerel. But good option.

 

[TooCheep]

They slowed to a egg or 2 a day right now, i would have to buy some. I had just switched back to layer from all flock since I butchered my cockerel. But good option.

Just something to consider....

Some people feed their hens layer feed and some go with all flock + oyster shell on the side. Layer is generally lower protein, but has calcium for egg shell development. All Flock is the opposite.

I started in the former camp, but moved to the latter. The reason is that there are too many exceptions to layer feed- when the birds are young, all cockerels, older hens, when they are molting and/or resting in winter, etc. The extra calcium is bad for the birds under those conditions.

All flock is higher protein (which I prefer anyway) and oyster shell is cheap. You can offer it to all chickens (except chicks which can't eat full pellets) and not worry about switching. Just be sure the oyster shell is "on the side" and they'll eat as much/little as they need.