Another Molting Question @37weeks?

[Schwartzfarmnc]

Okay, a few of the pullets have began to lose a few feathers but all of my Partridge Rocks have lost them in the belly area, and Yes one tried to go Broody but the others have not. I also have a Speckled Sussex that is losing her feathers in the belly area and some around the vent/backside area. My question is: Are mini molts what they are going through, or is it normal for them to lose the majority of feathers underneath and none on the head/back/tail? No mites or lice or other issues, I've checked throughly, still laying eggs everyday but the location of feather loss is interesting. Any comments would be helpful.

 

[CMV]

A juvenile molt could be responsible. Mini-molts happen all the time, but are usually not noticed because there are few signs- no slow down in egg production, very few feathers in the coop, no glaringly obvious bare patches. The location of the bare patches is indicative of the birds either losing them naturally or pulling them out on themselves. The only one that makes me pause is the one with feather loss near her vent- that may be related to someone else picking feathers off that bird. I would keep an eye out for that. Feather picking can be a nasty habit and hard to break.

I would guess in the absence of any bugs that your birds are going through a mini-molt. They should be back to their normal beautiful selves in no time, but if you are worried you can add some additional protein to their diet.

Good luck.

 

[Schwartzfarmnc]

Quote:
This being our first year with chickens everything is so new, we really don't know what to expect. Thank you for all the information.
The SS you are referring to has very little feather loss near the vent, but you can tell that new pin feathers and shafts have emerged, and she has stopped laying for about 6 or 7 weeks now and you can feel the new feathers coming in around the legs and underneath too, we do bring her in and feed some extra protein every other day and she sure enjoys it, she's a little hog.

The PR's are interesting, I had thought at one time they would all go broody but nothing out of 2 of them, jus the loss of feathers were they would normally lose them if they did go broody. I was expecting much more loss of feathers all over the birds if they did molt, so this mini molt thing has certainly confused me.

Our EE is now losing some tail feathers, and her new ones have begun to grow but the others must know she is mini molting too because they like to pick on her since she is dropping the tail feathers, and the pin feathers sure are sharp too, must be uncomfortable for them.