Is this molting?

[KatefromOz]

One more thing. Because she's been broody and now potentially molting, she hasn't laid an egg in about 4-5 weeks.

 

[PouleNoire]

That's normal

 

[EggSighted4Life]

She had been laying about 4-5 months which is how I came up her being around 10 months old. She has been broody 3 times already since laying. Back in feb she lost some feathers (not as many as this time) and brown feathers grew back

Wow, that's some heavy broody-ness!

My girls that are broody and allowed to sit or raise chicks usually go through mini molts every time... to the point they haven't even done their regular molt.

My eyes must be bad, I can't even see the bald spots.

In this pic her feathers are looking pretty ragged. Though that is usually true for my girls who are a little older and haven't had their first molt yet. Maybe some bullying from the red? Or possibly a side effect of the lice or mites. The condition of them won't improve until they do molt out though, even if the problem has corrected already.

I use pestene for lice treatment.

I'm not familiar with it... but as far as I can tell, it should be effective against lice.

That sounds like enough space in general. You are VERY kind to share your garage!

some plain tuna (rinsed to lower salt).

I didn't know tuna had salt in it.

 

[KatefromOz]

Wow, that's some heavy broody-ness!

My girls that are broody and allowed to sit or raise chicks usually go through mini molts every time... to the point they haven't even done their regular molt.

My eyes must be bad, I can't even see the bald spots.

In this pic her feathers are looking pretty ragged. Though that is usually true for my girls who are a little older and haven't had their first molt yet. Maybe some bullying from the red? Or possibly a side effect of the lice or mites. The condition of them won't improve until they do molt out though, even if the problem has corrected already.

I'm not familiar with it... but as far as I can tell, it should be effective against lice.

That sounds like enough space in general. You are VERY kind to share your garage!
I didn't know tuna had salt in it.

That particular photo is her back in Jan when those brown feathers were coming through on her back.
You can't really see any bald spots on her unless you hokd her and moce some feathers around. Her neck lookd a bit bare but that's about it. I seem to see most of the feathers coming from her side (around the thigh area).
It was just too hot in summer for our girls to be outside...and we don't really have any tree shade for them. We have had about 3 months of 95-105 F temps with really high humidity. Thank gosh its cooler now.
The tuna was in spring water and had a decent amount of sodium so I just gave it a little rinse
Thanks for your help

 

[KatefromOz]

I don't think it's bullying related. Red is definitely the top of the pecking order but the three of them get on well (if anything, my issue is with Gina bullying my little isa brown). Do you think lice/mites could cause this much feather loss? Her skin doesn't appear irritated so I wasn't sure if it was related to that?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

If you see pin feathers coming in it's probably just molt.

The type of mites that could cause heavy loss are microscopic and live in the feather shaft and are called depluming mites. But they are less common and you would definitely see irritation. Lack of irritation is a great sign.

Woo, I do not miss those temps! Especially pass with the humidity. It's awesome that you do what you can to help your birds out and work within your means. I bet they appreciated the shade.

 

[KatefromOz]

Thanks for all your help! I thinking it's just a molt too. I'll keep an eye on her though.
Yes! I am so glad we're getting some cooler weather. Tkme to out the chickens mister sprinkler away for a few months!

If you see pin feathers coming in it's probably just molt.

The type of mites that could cause heavy loss are microscopic and live in the feather shaft and are called depluming mites. But they are less common and you would definitely see irritation. Lack of irritation is a great sign.

Woo, I do not miss those temps! Especially pass with the humidity. It's awesome that you do what you can to help your birds out and work within your means. I bet they appreciated the shade.

 

[Teila]

Hey Kate .. I am late to party but yep, tis the season to be moulting tra, la, la,la, la, la, la, la, laaaaaaaaa

I had two going though pretty big moults and that was bad enough but I walked out to the garden two days ago and it looked like a chicken had exploded, with Blondie dropping a heap of feathers in one hit

She is a bantam Cochin [Pekin] and one of her normally beautifully feathered feet has 1 feather

Cooler weather? Of what do you speak? Still melting here in Far North Queensland

 

[Slike]

Yep, she's molting. Those semi-squishy, delicate fluid-filled spikes protruding from her skin are the new feathers growing in to replace what's been lost. They're often called "Blood Feathers."

When they're done forming as they push out, their outer protective layer will eventually dry out and become kind of flaky and start to fall off, while the newly finished parts of her feathers are released from the spikes to unfurl. Just be careful handling her during this process, as they are fragile and sensitive to pressure against them. My only advice on this whole event is to make sure she's getting adequate protein and calcium during this time, as feather growth relies largely on proteins to fuel the process. If she's free ranging and has access to invertebrates, there shouldn't be much of an issue there.

She'll look a lot less ragged once her new feathers have come in. The hen in my avatar photo just finished her molt and new feather regrowth cycle. She went from looking moth-eaten, ratty and being an awkwardly-textured, semi-fluffy pincushion to being beautiful, more vividly colored and back to her normal fluffy self. All my roosters and other hens are also getting new feathers currently. Best of luck in your chickening journey!

 

[KatefromOz]

T

Hey Kate .. I am late to party but yep, tis the season to be moulting tra, la, la,la, la, la, la, la, laaaaaaaaa

I had two going though pretty big moults and that was bad enough but I walked out to the garden two days ago and it looked like a chicken had exploded, with Blondie dropping a heap of feathers in one hit

She is a bantam Cochin [Pekin] and one of her normally beautifully feathered feet has 1 feather

Cooler weather? Of what do you speak? Still melting here in Far North Queensland

Thanks Teila. I figured it was the time of year but wanted to check as this is our first Autumn with chooks (also i thought she might be a little young).
I think i spoke to soon about the weather...walked out of work this arvo to 31 degree heat...ugh! Lucky us Queenslanders can handle it