That’s a hard one. If one or more is losing feathers, that’s probably due to a molt. Not all chickens molt at the same time, even if they are kept in the same conditions. Your providing heat in the winter may have delayed the molt for one or more by providing light, especially if you recently turned that light off. Turning the light off would have shortened their day.
A lot of things can cause a mini-molt. That’s where they lose a few feathers but don’t go through a full-fledged molt. They’ll still stop laying or tremendously cut back while they regrow their feathers but it doesn’t last as long as a full molt. About any kind of stress can cause a mini-molt, a change in in location, a predator attack, going without water for an extended time, a change in the pecking order, or many other things.
Hens often go through a mini-molt about a year to a year and a half after they start laying if you provide lights that stop them from molting at the regular time. Their body just kind of gets worn down and they need to refresh it.
Flock egg production normally follows a schedule. Their peak production is a little after they molt and start laying again, but after a few months it gradually drops. You have to have enough hens for average to mean much since each is an individual, but this is why commercial operations either force a molt or replace the laying flock somewhere around 80 weeks of production. The flock average drops so much that it is no longer profitable to feed them for the eggs they are laying. Egg quality often drops too when they lay that long without a molt.
When they start losing feathers it’s a good idea to check for mites or lice. This is usually not it but it’s possible. If one has mites or lice they all do, so that’s probably not it, but still……
Why are they fighting? I don’t know. It sounds like those two may be looking at a change in the pecking order. Chickens mature at different rates. If they are relatively young, like less than a year old, it could be just a change in the pecking order due to them maturing at different rates.
It’s possible one senses a weakness in the other which she may see as a chance to move up in the pecking order. It could be a disease or injury, though you said they are acting normal other than the fighting so that’s not likely to be the problem.
Some hens get cranky or touchy when they molt. Most carry on with the flock as normal, but some seem to avoid the flock more than normal. Maybe one of them just has an “attitude” that leads to the fighting, though I suspect it is related to the pecking order. Or one sees a change in attitude as a chance to move up in the pecking order.
I don’t know what is going on with your flock. It’s springtime with the days getting warmer so they are getting some signs to crank up certain hormones, but that heat lamp may have them totally confused because of mixed signals on the length of day. It could be many other things. I haven’t read anything that would give me great cause for concern. I suspect one or both are molting but I can’t say for sure. Good luck!
A lot of things can cause a mini-molt. That’s where they lose a few feathers but don’t go through a full-fledged molt. They’ll still stop laying or tremendously cut back while they regrow their feathers but it doesn’t last as long as a full molt. About any kind of stress can cause a mini-molt, a change in in location, a predator attack, going without water for an extended time, a change in the pecking order, or many other things.
Hens often go through a mini-molt about a year to a year and a half after they start laying if you provide lights that stop them from molting at the regular time. Their body just kind of gets worn down and they need to refresh it.
Flock egg production normally follows a schedule. Their peak production is a little after they molt and start laying again, but after a few months it gradually drops. You have to have enough hens for average to mean much since each is an individual, but this is why commercial operations either force a molt or replace the laying flock somewhere around 80 weeks of production. The flock average drops so much that it is no longer profitable to feed them for the eggs they are laying. Egg quality often drops too when they lay that long without a molt.
When they start losing feathers it’s a good idea to check for mites or lice. This is usually not it but it’s possible. If one has mites or lice they all do, so that’s probably not it, but still……
Why are they fighting? I don’t know. It sounds like those two may be looking at a change in the pecking order. Chickens mature at different rates. If they are relatively young, like less than a year old, it could be just a change in the pecking order due to them maturing at different rates.
It’s possible one senses a weakness in the other which she may see as a chance to move up in the pecking order. It could be a disease or injury, though you said they are acting normal other than the fighting so that’s not likely to be the problem.
Some hens get cranky or touchy when they molt. Most carry on with the flock as normal, but some seem to avoid the flock more than normal. Maybe one of them just has an “attitude” that leads to the fighting, though I suspect it is related to the pecking order. Or one sees a change in attitude as a chance to move up in the pecking order.
I don’t know what is going on with your flock. It’s springtime with the days getting warmer so they are getting some signs to crank up certain hormones, but that heat lamp may have them totally confused because of mixed signals on the length of day. It could be many other things. I haven’t read anything that would give me great cause for concern. I suspect one or both are molting but I can’t say for sure. Good luck!
