8 month old Cream Leg Bars molting??

[lauraclaire]

Hello! I have 4 cream leg bars and 2 Easter eggers. All were purchased as day old chicks in Feb of this year. They are all 8 months old now.
I've been told by many that hens this age shouldn't be molting but all 4 of the leg bars show signs of loosing feathers at the base of their tails. Easter eggers are fine. Could they be molting?

 

[Rose the Legbar]

Some pullets will molt their first winter, mine did. They lost their tail feathers, flight feathers, and neck feathers.

 

[Tookie]

They probably are molting, its that time. It can be normal for them to molt at a young age.

 

[-Chanticleer-]

Check for lice and mites just in case. You can never be too careful.

 

[LaFleche]

Did you recently change their feed?

 

[coach723]

Pictures of the birds (all of them from the side) and close ups of the area in question would help. Are you sure they are all pullets? Also feather picking is a possibility.

 

[lauraclaire]

Did you recently change their feed?

No, same feed as well as BSF larvae and greens, etc

 

[lauraclaire]

Pictures of the birds (all of them from the side) and close ups of the area in question would help. Are you sure they are all pullets? Also feather picking is a possibility.

They are definitely all hens and have been laying for a couple of months. I’ll post some pics

 

[lauraclaire]

Check for lice and mites just in case. You can never be too careful.

I use first Saturday lime and have sprayed for lice and mites several times using Premo Poultry Spray. There’s no redness at all and the one bare spot hasn’t gotten any bigger but I just got more spray and plan to spray again today.

 

[coach723]

Pictures may tell the story. Normally birds don't do their first adult molt until about 18 months of age, but that is variable and there is a really wide range of normal. It's not impossible. At their age, feather picking is also a strong possibility. Often the most pristine looking bird is the one doing it, and it often happens on the roosts at night.