Chickens wing feathers falling out

[my sunwolf]

Im sorry, I cant agree with the 3 causes of moulting mentioned. Sickness? Stress? ours are neither and have laid all through the moult. I thought it was a natural thing. They have now the most beautiful feathers. .

A molt could be caused by any of these three:

Laying Cycle or Seasonal: Most commonly it is caused by change in daylight hours, which is natural. This can be in fall, winter, or spring.
Stress: A sudden decrease in access to feed or water can cause a molt.
Sickness: An illness such as something respiratory or vent gleet can cause a molt.

That does not mean that molting is unnatural, it just means it can happen for different reasons.

Some hens will lay through the molt while others will slow down or stop. It varies based on breed, individual, weather, etc.

 

[tashpotato]

We do have an egg less a day, so the chances are its her.
It has suddenly got cold here with snow & ice - could that be a factor?
As for stress or food/water problems - definitely not that.
So for a month now her feathers (but only at the top of the wings) are gone, and she does have the original "blade" but none of the feathery bits on it (forgive my dumbness here!).

I looked it up when it started and one website said that it can happen when a rooster is too harsh with her or mounts her too much (his grip with his claws) but we don't have a rooster.

 

[my sunwolf]

We do have an egg less a day, so the chances are its her.
It has suddenly got cold here with snow & ice - could that be a factor?
As for stress or food/water problems - definitely not that.
So for a month now her feathers (but only at the top of the wings) are gone, and she does have the original "blade" but none of the feathery bits on it (forgive my dumbness here!).

I looked it up when it started and one website said that it can happen when a rooster is too harsh with her or mounts her too much (his grip with his claws) but we don't have a rooster.

When you say "blade" I think you're talking about the pin feathers, these are the start of her new feathers. It still sounds like a perfectly normal molt to me! More likely it's the very short daylight hours in winter that have caused her to start her molt. Molts can last anywhere from 1 month to 6 months, so you may not see any feather development for a long time.

(Here is a thread about my girl who had had a partial stress molt. When I adopted her, her feathers were torn and the shafts were split, not to mention most of them were half gone. This fall she molted quickly and now looks amazing.)

Pictures of your hen would really help.

 

[tashpotato]

I didn't know a moult could last that long! My other girls its usually fairly quick.
I will post a picture tomorrow. What a bad time for her to moult in this snow though

 

[tashpotato]

Here are some photos took today - sorry about the lack of quality.
Also, she looks red/sore right behind her comb, or maybe it just looks so because she's so fair?

 

[willowbranchfarm]

That looks like pecking.

 

[tashpotato]

Even though its symmetrical?

 

[willowbranchfarm]

Yes.

 

[tashpotato]

**** I've never seen them peck at her and I can't seperate them :/ anything I can try?

 

[willowbranchfarm]

Pinless peepers. They go on the chickens beak and prevent pecking.