Hello, hoping for some thoughts here. I have 14 layers a year old and 1 rooster. I watch over them like a hawk. Today I noticed one of my Black Copper Marans missing a whole patch of feathers on her neck! My first thought was molt? But it is mid Feb here and has been really cold. This happened within the last 2 days. I am now noticing a couple of the other hens with what appears to be the start of a molt. I'm attaching a couple of pics. I couldn't get a good one of the BCM where it shows the back of the neck. The odd thing is she still has the "quills" sticking out, just no feather on the end. Is that what a molt looks like? I've not had a hen go through one before. I just want to make sure that this is what is going on. No evidence of mites or bugs or anything like that. They are on a layer feed and have a large fenced in run, and I also let them out into the garden about once a day. Any ideas/suggestions? Thanks in advance. PS. She hasn't been laying for over a week!
