Is he sick?

[beckyg718]

My IB seems to be doing ok, wandering in and out as usual, however, after he got his new feathers, it was only a few weeks and he started looking "sparse", like the upper part up by his back his kind of bald. Is this normal? Not sure his age, was told he was 2+. His tail was beautiful in the beginning. No real stress, I only have 2 peabirds and they pretty much take over the whole side of the chicken house.

http://www5.snapfish.com/snapfish/s...8/PictureID=320621557008/a=37088005_37088005/

 

[beckyg718]

Attaching actual photo if that helps?

 

[Glenmar]

Hopefully someone will help.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

delete

 

[C&Rman]

Isn't he just molting? Someone correct me

 

[MinxFox]

At first I wondered that too C&Rman but what the confusing part about it is that beckyg718 said that he just grew them in and it has only been a few weeks and he is shedding...They shed the train feathers like that at the end of the breeding season, which is still not close to being over...

Wait, that light, do you keep that light on even at night when he sleeps? That has been the problem to many people's peacocks shedding feathers early.

Okay, I found this older topic, it might help you since it talks about this...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=474602

 

[NateinFL]

Looks to me like something is plucking out his back feathers, maybe even rats at night who knows but if he was molting I believe he would be molting all over, and the tail feathers would probably have been the first to go. I spy the 2nd peacock in the background

 

[Glenmar]

I wondered about that light too. I have only had mine since September, so I was not sure what the molting train looks like.

 

[SunBaked]

When my old one molted he would have the tail that evening and the next morning it would be scattered around the pen except maybe 1 or 2 feathers. He is the only one I ever had besides my new one though so I'm not sure if they all do it that way.

 

[MinxFox]

Peacocks shed differently...Some will shed like your peacock were all their train feathers come out in one day, and some will shed a few a day. Dragon would shed maybe two at least and at most 10 a day until finally he wouldn't have any train feathers, but I have seen photos of peacocks moulting were they were missing the shorter train feathers and only had the long ones still in. They all just have different ways of moulting.