Feathers falling out in CLUMPS

[mickeymousears]

2year old RIR started loosing feathers yesterday. This evening her entire chest is bare and the rest of her feathers look pretty mangy. You pet her and handfuls come out.
She has NEVER molted- so I'm hoping she's just a late bloomer. But I've never seen feathers fall off a bird like this. Anyone have any ideas??
She seems fine otherwise but I've been treating my other hen for feather picking/emaciation- so I'm now imagining all the awful things it could be.

 

[ten chicks]

2year old RIR started loosing feathers yesterday. This evening her entire chest is bare and the rest of her feathers look pretty mangy. You pet her and handfuls come out.
She has NEVER molted- so I'm hoping she's just a late bloomer. But I've never seen feathers fall off a bird like this. Anyone have any ideas??
She seems fine otherwise but I've been treating my other hen for feather picking/emaciation- so I'm now imagining all the awful things it could be.

Sounds like molting,but just to be sure check her for mites/lice. Check under wings,base of tail feathers,around vent area.

 

[mickeymousears]

Thanks! I actually just powdered them for lice a few days ago (2nd treatment- trying to figure out why the other one is feather picking)
When I checked her this morning she was FULL of pins- poor thing must be miserable

 

[gryeyes]

The first hard molt is surprising, all right! The poor things look like chemo patients; having been a chemo patient, I really feel for them.

I up the protein for them with higher protein treats. Everybody gets BOSS (Black Oil Sunflower Seeds) as a daily, hand-feeding treats. BOSS helps promote feather growth.

I'll even give them a baked egg treat. I break about two, three dozen eggs (I have a large flock) in a 13X9 baking dish, cook at 350 degrees for about an hour, let it cool then cut it into squares or chunks and feed it to the flock.

My two ganders have been molting and they have lost their big wing "flight" feathers everywhere.

As more of the flock starts to molt, it looks like a huge flash mob had a pillow fight in the night all over my property.

 

[mickeymousears]

Well...lucky for Red they've been getting daily BOSS and meal worms for a few weeks...again trying to fix the other hen, the feather picker