Bald bantam

[alisadavis]

Hello,
Last fall, I acquired 4 adult hens from a friend that could not keep them. One hen is a Dutch bantam, the other 3 are standard sized, each a different breed. I kept their food the same and tried to make the transition as easy as possible for them, and the hens were laying fine and beginning their fall molt. They received extra protein as they started to lose feathers. The 3 standard hens were doing great, except the bantam. She dropped almost all of her contour/body feathers all at once and was bald as the weather started to get really cold. Poor thing would shiver all day long and I had to bring her inside, which affected the flock dynamic between the hens. Has anyone come across this problem and can give advice in case she drops all her feathers again this year? Is this stress related? Thank you for your feedback.

 

[sourland]

Some birds molt over a long period of time, and others have a massive molt where they drop most of their feathers all at once. She may very well have the same sort of molt this autumn.

 

[alisadavis]

I thought as much. Crossing my fingers that she molts a little earlier or the beginning of the winter isn't as cold. Bringing her inside seemed to stress her out more and really messed with the flock dynamic. My tiny bantam sits at the top of the pecking order.