I followed advice given to me BUT….

[aart]

I've never seen birds molt in the fall, it's always been late summer or late winter.
There are several molts during a bird's first year, the biggest one is about when they hit a year, give or take a few months.
Several of my year olds months are molting right now and they look like heck microwaved.
It could be something to do with which part of the hemisphere you're at.

Juvenile molts are done by 6 months....but maybe that could be different for birds hatched in late summer, but I doubt it.
Yes, late summer(like now) is not an unusual time for molting.
Have never even them molt in summer even in high heat, tho here in MI is not as high as in AZ.

There can be a lot of exceptions, but this....

They're molting, it's both summer and their first birthday so it's about time for it.

Is not an accurate blanket statement.

 

[SourRoses]

Here in FL my birds have been molting for a month or two already. Breed seems to matter, the Ameraucana go first. Getting less eggs but it's just as well because we had waay too many before, lol.

 

[Got13now]

I've never seen birds molt in the fall, it's always been late summer or late winter.
There are several molts during a bird's first year, the biggest one is about when they hit a year, give or take a few months.
Several of my year olds months are molting right now and they look like heck microwaved.
It could be something to do with which part of the hemisphere you're at.

Thank you for the reply. None of my chickens look like the ones in the molting article. They just have feathers everywhere and some hens have a feather or two sticking out odd like it’s ready to fall off any time, but no skin showing.

 

[nuthatched]

Thank you for the reply. None of my chickens look like the ones in the molting article. They just have feathers everywhere and some hens have a feather or two sticking out odd like it’s ready to fall off any time, but no skin showing.

There's a hard molt where they look raggedy, naked and horrible and a soft molt where there will be feathers everywhere but no discernable cause. I have two hard molting and 4 that are soft molting.
As long as you don't see any active plucking and are sure their aren't pests, I wouldn't worry.

 

[Brooks_]

I've never seen birds molt in the fall, it's always been late summer or late winter.

Not to call you out, just you had the terms in a single post.

I don't like the vagueness of the terms. For me fall could be September or November. I do see molt through that time period, but in other regions molt could be months before. My late winter is usually February. Again, most likely different in other areas.

 

[McChooky]

Maybe this will help you!? https://www.gardenbetty.com/why-some-chickens-molt-faster-than-others/

 

[nuthatched]

Not to call you out, just you had the terms in a single post.

I don't like the vagueness of the terms. For me fall could be September or November. I do see molt through that time period, but in other regions molt could be months before. My late winter is usually February. Again, most likely different in other areas.

That's the point.
You do have to be somewhat vague when talking about seasons. It's simpler to apply a general timeline to season, rather than month, which takes into count our different weather regions.
I could say late august-september is late summer to me but it could be fall or mid summer to others, I could say January is late winter, but it could be mid winter or early spring to others.
There's also on the equator and southern hemisphere to consider, whose seasons are temperate or are reversed to mine.

 

[Got13now]

He's being aggressive and territorial against you. When a roo attacks it's just the first of many incidents to come.

Oh ! Thank you for the warning . He is really BIG ! He is a Bielefelder.

He's being aggressive and territorial against you. When a roo attacks it's just the first of many incidents to come.

 

[SmiYa0126]

My Plymouth blues only do soft molts, while my olive eggers go hard. You may be having a soft molt. Up their protein and look out for any sickness.

 

[Got13now]

...unless it's perhaps a snake or two eating the eggs? Also, considering that they are a year old and sexually mature, maybe they're just busy mother hens or want to be. Three mother hens takes three egg-layers out of the daily production. They won't lay when they've got babies to tend to.


I wonder if you've still got a predator (including snakes) hanging about when you don't see it. Might account for the feathers flying about, and the stress will lead to fewer eggs too. I know you lost one hen already. Most predators are smart; once fed at your dinner table, they'll come back again and again for more.

OTOH, it's not too soon for the fall molt to begin. Days are getting shorter and that triggers molt. Hens won't lay as often when they're molting, either.


I can't say for sure that chickens can "like" or "dislike" any human. They can associate good or bad things from one human or another, and seek your company if you have something they want (treats, safety, petting...) but IMO that doesn't equate to affection. Big Jim likely sees you as a threat to his dominance over the flock. You had just fed them some mealworms. Big Jim knows *he* is supposed to be the provider, to show the hens where the treats are; and that a good provider attracts the most hens. Therefore, you feeding his hens might lure some of them away from him. I suggest that next time, feed Jim first; drop some treats in front of him, then let HIM tell the hens, "Look what I found for you! Treats!"

It is funny how Big Jim is. When he sees me coming up to their area, he and the hens run to me. He will get about 5 feet from me and stares. I will carefully toss the mealworms at his feet, but he just makes this soft sound and lets the hens eat it. He takes a while before he starts eating and allows the hens to snatch the mealworms from his mouth. The time he jumped on my back, I had finished feeding them and was leaving. I turned to face him and he didn’t do anything but when I turned around, he did it again. It didn’t hurt, I was not sure what he was doing. I don’t know how I should deal with this.