feather loss on a couple chickens possible moulting? with pictures

[chickencrazy21]

I'm about 50% sure a couple of my chickens are moulting. but I'm not positive. i just want to double check that my girls aren't sick. i can take pictures if need be. but ill describe it. one of my chickens is a Easter egger. her feathers on her back are all ruffled and falling off. we have a red star chicken who has bare patches on her wings. particularly from a rooster we had a few months ago because mayhem was her favorite breeding partner. but the feathers in her face are missing. then there are two other chickens a white leg horn and a rhode island red who have the same feathers all rumpled and falling out on there back like the easter egger. so is this moulting? i thought they do that in winter? if its not moulting what are the other causes? they dont have mites i check them often and just recently treated them with frontline because they had deer ticks on there faces. its also not worms because i dewormed them awhile ago. any help or advice would be appreciated. i just love my girls and hate when there sick.

 

[12chickenlover3]

Chickens do not molt in the summer, only winter. Can you post some pictures?

 

[chickencrazy21]

yes ill go up right now and take some pictures with my camera

 

[chickencrazy21]

this is mayhem notice her face its missing feathers. and then her wings have a missing bald spot also


mayhem again


this is the white leg horn see how the feathers on back are ruffled


poor mayhem has it worst


canabal the ruffled back feathers (earned her name by pecking another chickens head open the other chicken healed perfectly after i super glued the head wound.)


poor mayhem again


henny penny has a little of the ruffled back feathers. shes also keeping eggs warm lol silly girl


all the girls having spinach snack. the brown and white one withs its butt to you had her head pecked open and i super glued it back together.

 

[chickencrazy21]

any one know if this is moulting? or are they sick??

 

[Eggcessive]

Okay, chickens molt for the first time around 18 months old, then every year thereafter. They will have mini-molts up till the first molt, where you will see feathers in their area. Your chickens look as if they have been over-mated by your rooster. When they get bare-backed pretty bad, the feathers won't grow back until they molt. Molting can occur any time of the year, but since most people hatch chicks in the early spring, those chickens will molt in late summer or fall 1 1/2 years later. A stressing period such as an animal attack, or going without food or water can bring about a molt earlier.

 

[tracy0052]

My white rock hen looks just like your mayhem missing feathers on her head and back. I thought it was a molt but it started in March and now it's July and no better. We separated the roo from the girls in June because he was just too rough. Two other girls have some back feathers broke or missing. They were hatched a year ago March. Will the feathers really not grow back til they molt? What happened with Mayhem how did she turn out?
Here is our White Rock

 

[tracy0052]

Wanted to update on this post. Our chickens went to a hard molt late summer/early fall and all the bald spot filled back in beautifully! Fluffy white girls again.