Icelandic Chickens

[Icies]

snhchick - I can't believe how much Sid changed!

 

[Vindi]

So I got to like post 14320 , then my phone reset and i am not energized to get back into it with not being able to click on the exact page. So I guess I will never know where / what happened to everyone who was at the beginning. My babies are growing and very active!

 

[snhchick]

My chickens are back roosting on the roof of the coop again. I changed the height of the roost inside of the coop because it was across from the open window, and it is getting too cold for them to sit there. Last night it was raining hard, and they begrudgingly roosted inside. Most nights I have to drag them squawking and flapping into the coop. I have removed the launching pads from the pen, but they still manage to fly up to the roof (about 5 feet high where they land). I'm going to try to run something along the end where they land to discourage them. I thought about using a bit of wire fencing, but I'm afraid they won't see it. I can't think of a way to attach something to the roof, so I need to hang whatever I use from the chicken wire that covers the pen. Can they see color? Maybe I could weave some hay baling twine into a piece of fencing. Any ideas?

 

[NotAFarm]

So I got to like post 14320 , then my phone reset and i am not energized to get back into it with not being able to click on the exact page. So I guess I will never know where / what happened to everyone who was at the beginning. My babies are growing and very active!

Here ya go:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/299038/icelandic-chickens/14310

link to the page with 14320 on it.

 

[Icies]

Hey everyone, I have a molting question. One of my original girls (born in March 2016) is losing feathers like crazy. She is the only blonde one & the feathers in the run all appear to be hers. But she has never looked like she was losing any until today, she is starting to look bad. I have not gotten an egg from her or the other pullet in a week or two. The other pullet does not appear to be losing feathers. I'm worried she might be sick!!! From what I've read they shouldn't molt until she is at least 1 yr old (altho she did start laying @ 8 weeks). I have searched the icelandic thread & see some discussions of molting but and some say theirs have never had a hard molt. I'm not even 100% sure what a hard molt looks like. She seems to be one of the more aggressive so I find it hard to believe someone is pulling out her feathers. I guess what I'm really hoping to find out is, is she too young to molt & is there any way to be sure if someone is molting? Again... any help would be appreciated

 

[NotAFarm]

Hey everyone, I have a molting question. One of my original girls (born in March 2016) is losing feathers like crazy. She is the only blonde one & the feathers in the run all appear to be hers. But she has never looked like she was losing any until today, she is starting to look bad. I have not gotten an egg from her or the other pullet in a week or two. The other pullet does not appear to be losing feathers. I'm worried she might be sick!!! From what I've read they shouldn't molt until she is at least 1 yr old (altho she did start laying @ 8 weeks). I have searched the icelandic thread & see some discussions of molting but and some say theirs have never had a hard molt. I'm not even 100% sure what a hard molt looks like. She seems to be one of the more aggressive so I find it hard to believe someone is pulling out her feathers. I guess what I'm really hoping to find out is, is she too young to molt & is there any way to be sure if someone is molting? Again... any help would be appreciated

Icies, No one in my flock has molted their first year. They do go through numerous changes in feathers their first year.

Do you have a cockerel/rooster that is "treading" her. This could be why you're finding her feathers.

My other suspicion would be some kind of mites that are causing her to pick her own feathers out.

 

[Icies]

I am still keeping the roo seperate.

Now that I am finally able to tell where the feather loss is coming from (at least the majority) is from her neck. Some of the stuff I read about mites makes it sound like it would be happening more around the vent area but I don't know. It's all very confusing when you have no idea what you are doing If it was mites would they all be showing signs?

 

[drumstick diva]

Is it possible she is older than you believe? You mentioned she first laid eggs at 8 weeks old. I can't recall any breed laying that early. She could actually be old enough for a true molt. Sometimes birds loose feathers around the head or neck due to some behavior. For instance sticking their heads deep in a feeder with rough edges, or through chain link or other fencing.

 

[GardenWren]

I just get a txt from my neighbor. They were going somewhere at 4am and saw at least 3-4 racoons right next to my coop. Ugh! It isn't like I didn't know they were around but don't like the fact they were camped out by it. Is there anything I can do to dissuade them? I am thinking about setting my alarm for every few hours and going outside with the dogs but I obviously can't do that forever. Thoughts? Suggestions?

I've read several articles on predator prevention and have toyed with the thoughthe of trying urine to scent mark the area. A fellow poultry keeper I correspond with swears by it. I believe you can buy it in pelleted form, both coyote and wolf urine, on Amazon. Something to look into.

 

[Icies]

Drumstick Diva - I am sure of her age (I hatched her) but I can see why you asked. From what I have read she was a little young. And that is a great idea on it being something mechanical. Nothing comes to mind off the top of my head but I am going to think about it and watch to see if it is something like that.

GardenWren - I see some people swear by the predator urine. I haven't purchased any yet but try to get the dogs to pee out there as much as possible. I am still doing nightly rounds & w treats have gotten my couch potato dogs to accompany me. I have never seen another predator but the dogs do go crazy occasionally. Who knows what they saw... it could have been a cat. I am leaning towards getting a LGD. I love animals and having another one to solve the problem is appealing - but that is an expensive fix - and I'm not sure if I have enough animals to keep them busy.

I thought of something else about the feather loss. It seems to come & go in spurts. It might not ever completely stop but there definitely seems to be times where it is worse than others. I don't know if that helps. Sorry for all the questions, I don't want there to be something wrong & lose her. I can't go through that again so soon.