hen never moulted?

[mosse71]

hey folks. ran into something i never seen in 30yrs of raising birds. 1 of my isa browns never moulted. the other 25 all did. poor thing is freezing and we've had a warmer winter here. she's probably got half her feathers. she's healthy and eating other wise. i give lots of supplements and greens when they go through molt. any ideas why she didn't molt with the rest? t.y.

 

[apryl29]

Mine did that too. No idea why, probably just didn't get the hormone change to do it yet. Last year I had one who went late & molted in February where everyone else molted in Oct - Nov. So she might just be a late molter. It sounds more like she's molting but slower and longer than the others. I have a cymani-orpington who has been slow molting all winter. She's laid at least 1 egg per week where everyone else had stopped laying when they molted & haven't restarted since the fall. Under her tail is noticeably bare, but she looks normal otherwise. Maybe an increase in protein will help your hen get her feathers filled in faster. I typically mix feather fixer pellets w/ layer pellets so they get a big more protein while still getting the calcium to lay eggs.
Good luck!

 

[mosse71]

Mine did that too. No idea why, probably just didn't get the hormone change to do it yet. Last year I had one who went late & molted in February where everyone else molted in Oct - Nov. So she might just be a late molter. It sounds more like she's molting but slower and longer than the others. I have a cymani-orpington who has been slow molting all winter. She's laid at least 1 egg per week where everyone else had stopped laying when they molted & haven't restarted since the fall. Under her tail is noticeably bare, but she looks normal otherwise. Maybe an increase in protein will help your hen get her feathers filled in faster. I typically mix feather fixer pellets w/ layer pellets so they get a big more protein while still getting the calcium to lay eggs.
Good luck!

i gave the feather fixer also and i feed a higher protein feed anyway in the winter so that shouldn't be a issue. as long as she's still getting around i guess shell be alright.

 

[apryl29]

I'd keep and eye on her, but my slow molters always finished up even thought it felt like it took 100 years.