Is this moulting?

[beany_bot]

Sorry for probably silly question. But it's my first autumn with hens! Is this normal moulting? She looks mad! My other BO doesn't look like this.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

That's... molting!

Now you can enter her into this contest if you want to:
Official BYC Contest—Post Your Best (Worst) Chicken Molt Pictures - 2025

 

[Mrs. K]

They look like they have partied hard all night, and are what the cat drug home! In a couple of weeks - she will look like she has brand new clothes!

And they all do it on their own clock. Some do it fast, and some do it slow.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Molting, and amp up her protein! Ground beef, sardines, scrambled eggs, (shh) cooked chicken or turkey. This often helps chickens through their molt faster.

 

[beany_bot]

Molting, and amp up her protein! Ground beef, sardines, scrambled eggs, (shh) cooked chicken or turkey. This often helps chickens through their molt faster.

Cooked chicken!!

I'm not comfortable doing that. Bad things happen when species eat their own.

I'll up her protein though

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Cooked chicken!!

I'm not comfortable doing that. Bad things happen when species eat their own.

I'll up her protein though

I agree on cooked chicken, but plenty of people do it. One of the things I offer to my birds is deer rib cage. They absolutely go crazy for those. My warnings on that are make sure the weather is cold enough for it not to spoil before they can eat it all, and it will call predators if you're in a high predator area.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Cooked chicken!!

I'm not comfortable doing that. Bad things happen when species eat their own.

I'll up her protein though

I’ll confess that I haven’t done this myself, but my husband tossed the girls some deli turkey, and they went crazy. And I’ve read about the chicken equivalent.

Basically, chickens are omnivores, and they must have some animal protein (bugs, worms, etc.) for a healthy life. They do not discriminate on what species of animal donated its protein.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Heck if you go down in a chicken coop and don't get up, they'll eat you.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Heck if you go down in a chicken coop and don't get up, they'll eat you.

I had accidentally got scratched by one of my chicks while I was sitting in with them, and had started bleeding, and one of them- Sweet-Faced Tiara- saw it and started drinking my blood! Then got obsessed! She wouldn't leave me alone and kept trying to get more!

Yes, it is true. They will eat you if they had the chance.