Feather loss

How old is she? I'm guessing that she's going through her yearly molt. Chickens often go through their first molt at around a year old, and go through one every year following that.

It's also possible that other birds are picking on her and pulling the feathers out. But, I'd first suspect molting.

 

Oh yeah lol. There is a worst molt competition thread here somewhere with a totally naked chicken running round in it . Well worth a look!

One of my frizzles turned into a naked neck last time, dreading her next one!

 

Hi stevielynn

My first experience with a hard molt freaked me out! I came home from work and Dusty had lost heaps of feathers; I thought something was wrong with her and picked her up which she did not like.

I did not know that picking up a molting chicken can hurt them.

Here is the link to the Worst Chicken Molt competition and apps is right in that there are lots of naked and semi naked chickens running around; including my Dusty

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...-worst-chicken-molt-pictures-fall-winter-2014

 

Thank you for posting these pics I have two chickens that look the same way...truly pittiful....feather everywhere and I was worried something was majorly wrong!
I guess different breeds handle molting differently cause I have some that are just loosing feathers a little bit!

Can anyone tell me how long they will molt for?

Thanks for your help!

 

Chickens usually molt for 6-8 weeks. But, some finish sooner, and others seem to molt constantly, a few feathers at a time.

 

The time it takes for a bird to molt varies. Some are really fast; basically dropping all their feathers and growing them in a few weeks. Others have a molt that drags out for 6+ months. The average molting time is usually around 4-6 weeks.