Is it possible for a pullet to molt before she is a year old? pics

[scgamecock]

I have a Partridge Rock that just came off the nest and I do believe she is molting already.She won't be a year old until the first of May.I don't have a picture but maybe I can get one tomorrow to post.

This is her just a few minutes ago.

This is her and her sister which is fully feathered.The middle one is a BSL

This is her sister again with Lacy my SLW looking on and a SLW roo bent over

Here is an even better picture of her feathers

 

[speckledhen]

Yes! And it surprised me, too, but I had several 9 month old chickens molt pretty good. My original flock didn't do it, at least noticably, but the next batch sure did! It happened especially around the neck under the jaw ear areas and around vents and stomachs.

Hey, I just noticed they changed my title!

 

[scgamecock]

She looks really ragged and there are new pin feathers starting to come out.She has that white "cottony" look all over and she acts like she is starving all the time.I'm gonna go see if I can get a picture and post it.Well she also has to replace all of her stomach feathers because she pulled them out while sitting her nest.

 

[wynedot55]

yes they can molt before their a yr old.the time of year that they are hatched sometimes affects when they molt.

 

[speckledhen]

Funny thing is, my original flock AND my second wave of girls both hatched in January, a year apart. The first girls didn't molt for real that I could tell till 18 months old and older. The second batch were all molting at 9 months old almost as bad as the original ones at 18 months old. Last year was just the oddest year for crops and chickens, so I chalked it up to that.

 

[scgamecock]

Picture coming.Let me get it downloaded

 

[speckledhen]

She does look like she's molting-she's missing tail feathers. (OT, I see my Lacy's namesake-still miss her around here.)

 

[Justino]

Quote:
OMG 11,000 posts?!?!?!?!?how did u ever manage to do that LOL congrats Flock Master

 

[scgamecock]

Yes her tail feathers are falling out but new one's are coming in.I took a picture of her with her sister who is the same age to compare.Yes that is my Lacy staring in the camera.

 

[speckledhen]

Well, then it's official. She's molting early. Looks awful, doesn't it? I did hear that if a hen goes broody, often it brings on a molt as she comes off that spell, but not sure exactly where I heard that.
Justin, I talk too much, plain and simple. And people keep asking me questions-it's just plain rude to ignore them, right?