Chicken Molting Weird?

[fezmo]

Earlier this spring I got a bunch of chicks, they all grew out there adult feathers two months ago, except one. One of my hens has not finished growing her feathers and actually looks like she keep losing them. They aren't getting pulled out by anything, and the feather shaft looks a bit odd. She also has not yet started laying, which I assume is because she is still molting. Is this some sort of genetic thing? Or does she have some sort of nutritional deficiency? Any information would be appreciated.

 

[Karasu]

Earlier this spring I got a bunch of chicks, they all grew out there adult feathers two months ago, except one. One of my hens has not finished growing her feathers and actually looks like she keep losing them. They aren't getting pulled out by anything, and the feather shaft looks a bit odd. She also has not yet started laying, which I assume is because she is still molting. Is this some sort of genetic thing? Or does she have some sort of nutritional deficiency? Any information would be appreciated.

She looks like she has her adult feathering, is the hen in the picture the one you're talking about?
Birds do tend to lose feathers somewhat even when they're not molting, and this may be what you're seeing. It's a small image so it's difficult to see the details of the shaft, but if the barbs are pressed against the side of the shaft it may be that she didn't preen the pinfeather casing off until more recently and she's still losing a few baby feathers.
She looks normal and I doubt this is something to worry about. Best of luck.

 

[fezmo]

I'll try and get a better picture, that one doesn't show her feathers all that well. What's concerning to me is that she has been loosing feathers and growing them constantly for the past three months. I've had chickens for a long time now and I've never seen one molt the way she does. There doesn't seem to be any order to which feathers she's losing.

 

[Karasu]

I'll try and get a better picture, that one doesn't show her feathers all that well. What's concerning to me is that she has been loosing feathers and growing them constantly for the past three months. I've had chickens for a long time now and I've never seen one molt the way she does. There doesn't seem to be any order to which feathers she's losing.

Interesting, so it's a significant quantity? Yes, I'll be interested to see better photos.

 

[fezmo]

Ok here's some better pictures. The first picture is for comparison, that's my other dark brahma who feathered normally. The last two are the same bird, the one with the feather issues.

 

[Karasu]

Ok here's some better pictures. The first picture is for comparison, that's my other dark brahma who feathered normally. The last two are the same bird, the one with the feather issues.

Interesting, the shafts do look odd. Have you checked for mites and lice? Some birds are more prone than others.