Arkansas folks speak up.........

[luvarabhorses]

Urban,

How is Gladys adjusting? Feel free to change her name of course (FYI)- we named her after the nosey next door neighbor character on Bewitched, Gladys Kravitz. She was always right in the middle of everything in a funny way. Last summer she was laying eggs in the back of our golf cart, regardless of where it was parked.
Hope her feathers are growing back quickly with all that protein. Has she laid any eggs yet?

Lisa

 

[urban dreamer]

Lisa,

She still hasn't laid anything yet. But that's OK. Since I brought her home one of my other hens started to molt! She seems to be growing her feathers out (there everywhere

and she's still pretty scruffy looking) and I think she still needs time to get to know me. She runs from me when I open the door and she is the alpha hen in the little two bird flock I've got in the new coop. Im taking it easy with her and the other chook. We are gonna keep the name Gladys, it just kinda stuck! Im loving her though! She dose have alot of personality. My other hens have finally realized that the new hens arn't gonna hurt them and they are quiet now. Thank you again and for the picture! Is that what she will look like when her feathers grow out? What kind of coloration do you call that?

 

[luvarabhorses]

Urban,

Yes, she will look like that. It is a neat sort of coloration, I don't know what it would be called. She's got a big beard which I like and a lot and blue and gold neck feathers. She will come around and be eating out of your hand in no time. Hope she is being nice to her new sisters. Here is something else funny she did recently. We built a new chicken house that is pretty big, 10 x 10. It is built on skids so we coud move it around with the tractor. We took the tractor in and we were lifting, pushing, shoving it around when I noticed Gladys marching back and forth in front of the closed door. I shut off the tractor and she was really fussing and talking loud, no doubt that we were interfering with her egg laying. I thought in about ten minutes we would be done so I turned the tractor back on and we went back to what we were doing. Ten minutes later Phil opened the chicken house door and there was Gladys on the nest box. Somehow she had snuck in and made herself comfortable while the whole house was being shoved around by a tractor.

 

[urban dreamer]

that's funny! I hope she will lay again before spring. Next weekend all eggs will be offically safe to eat. I had to throw every last one out for the last month because of the medication Eva was on. I couldn't tell hers and Zoii's eggs apart unless I caught them in the act. I plan on useing the eggs I get after that to make deviled eggs for Thanksgiving. Do you think Gladys will finish her molt soon? You said she was about two weeks into it. Im finding clipped fight feathers everywhere!

Oh and she and the pullet are taking turns sleeping on top of the nest boxes. I don't think she likes the baby. She pecks at it alot but never hard enough to hurt it. Poor Ginger is just gonna have to be at the bottom of the pecking order until she big enough to pick back at Gladys, Zoii and Eva. That is if Ginger doesn't turn out to be George. I don't want to sound like a jerk by questioning Amanda's expertise that it is a pullet, but its tail feathers are quite long. We will wait and see if its an egger or a crower.

(please be a hen!)

 

[luvarabhorses]

I think, and maybe I am wrong here, that your occasional high protein treats (like catfood) will speed up the molting process. I wouldn't let her sleep on top of the nest box, that is rude.
It is a shame that chickens have to establish a "pecking order" but, like you said, it isn't really malicious (usually) just forcing respect in the group.

Does anyone else know how long molting takes??? It seems like a late time of the year for a chicken to molt- no one else here is molting.


best wishes, lisa

 

[Ridgerunner]

How long does a molt last? Check the second paragraph of this Mississippi State document. Like most things to do with chickens, it depends. Anywhere from 2 to 6 months. Sometimes stress can start a molt. Maybe the stress of moving to a new flock?

http://msucares.com/poultry/management/poultry_feathers.html

 

[luvarabhorses]

Thank you! She started molting about two weeks before Nichole got her so I guess she has a ways to go.
thanks again!!!

 

[urban dreamer]

Its getting cold! I hope she grows them feathers back out soon! Oh and I noticed something yesterday: somebody has been in the nest box. The bedding and shreaded newspaper has been moved around and kicked out a little bit. Good sign? Gladys does sleep on top of them, mabey soon she will lay?

 

[verycherry]

I guess it depends on how many chickens you have too. A few of mine are still molting, but most have finished. The few that are still molting have most of the new feathers in, they're just still very short stubs. The ones that are done look so nice and shiny. I was glad they got rid of all those mudd stained feathers after all the rain we'd had this year.

My birds just finished off a 50 pound bag of 26% game bird. It only took them 3 days. Now I'm going back to 18% or 20% tomorrow. I'm hoping the few days of extra protein will get them laying again sooner.

 

[angel1]

Doesn't game bird feed have meds in it? I was thinking that I could feed my meat birds some of that til my feed guy told me that all his has meds in it. I'm the kind that has to be paticular about what I feed if i am going to be on the receiving end of the eatin...I'm VERY sensitive to just about everything. My meat birds are bout 1 1/2 weeks old and still looks like I just got them. I am feeding them non medicated starter..but the feed guy told me that it's only 20% protein. I was hoping to find something that is higher protein (I've even thought about hog feed..but he says it also has meds in it too). My feed guy told me that the starter and the layer pellets are pretty much the same except that one is pellets and one is really small grain...I was hoping that one would have many more vitamins in it...sometimes it just doesn't pay to live in a small town....JMHO......BTW, I am also feeding my barred rocks (future egg layers) the starter too.. they are about a month old and ooh so pretty!