Chicken losing feathers

[colorfulchicks]

Hey everyone, this is my almost 2 year old hen. She has been losing feathers a lot lately, she used to be really fluffy. My other hens are also losing feathers but not as much as her. We used to have a rooster, but he was really aggressive so we gave him away. It’s been about two-three weeks that they also stopped laying eggs, but I don’t know if that’s because of the rooster being gone. Let me know if you guys know if there is anything wrong with her or if it’s natural.

 

[sourland]

She is undergoing a heavy/hard molt - perfectly natural.

 

[BoundlessLove]

Looks like molting. You can give her extra protein or a higher protein feed to help her.

 

[BoundlessLove]

Here is a thread which explains molting and the process.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/what-happens-when-chickens-molt.67366/

 

[hammyanne]

She's just getting ready for winter ◡̈ She may be less tolerant of handling or more skittish/shy than usual. Mine are molting as well and some have been hiding out in the coop/generally laying low, and my usual cuddly hens don't want to be touched at all.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Hey everyone, this is my almost 2 year old hen. She has been losing feathers a lot lately, she used to be really fluffy. My other hens are also losing feathers but not as much as her. We used to have a rooster, but he was really aggressive so we gave him away. It’s been about two-three weeks that they also stopped laying eggs, but I don’t know if that’s because of the rooster being gone. Let me know if you guys know if there is anything wrong with her or if it’s natural.
View attachment 4238506View attachment 4238507View attachment 4238508

Bless her heart. As others have said, she's molting (moulting for the Commonwealth folks.)

Growing new feathers requires a lot of protein, and overall calories as well. Add protein to the diet of any molters, whether from a high-protein commercial feed or from simply adding additional protein each day, preferably an animal-source protein.

Chickens are obligate carnivores: they need protein from animal sources as well as from plant sources. Although mine are on an all-flock/ whole-grain chick feed 50/50, I also throw uncooked ground beef out to the girls 3x/week, which they go nuts for.

Those of you who share eggs with vegetarians should probably be prepared to explain this, so as to allow them to decide if they're ok with this animal protein intake. (I assume that vegans would be out of the picture anyway, due to not eating eggs.)

The common pattern (plenty of variations, though!) is for pullets to skip their first autumn/ winter for molting. It can definitely take a while! - up to 6 months or more, although this would be very unusual.