5 out of 35 hens STILL MOULTING!

[obsessedwchicks]

I'm just really confused at why five hens are still featherless. They should be getting their feathers back, but I keep waiting, and am seeing NOTHING coming back on. Should I be worried?

 

[Johnn]

Are you sure they dont have lice? what are they being fed on? they could need mor protein, try giving them growers pellets for the extra protein. If you give your whole flock growers pellets and some are laying make sure they have a source of calcium (oyster shells). Hope this helps

 

[donrae]

Yep, you should be worried. So, some questions.......

How old are the birds? How long have they been bare? Can you post a pic of them?

How much space do you have? 35 birds is a lot, the first thing that comes to my mind is overcrowding. What do you feed them?

 

[obsessedwchicks]

A layer a scratch and then something called cutting edge. Their a year old or less, not really that old, and our space is i mean not that crowded so that shouldn't be a problem, and as of right now I dont have a picture of the ones without the feathers, but as soon as I can get one, I'll upload it.

 

[donrae]

At that age it's not molting, doesn't sound like diet. Do you have roosters that could be overmating? Can you give us a better estimate on your space? Have you checked for mites or lice?

 

[obsessedwchicks]

They've been laying for a couple months, and then their feathers fell off and now some are back on but not all of them are on. Our space is fine. There's nothing wrong the space.