Is this normal molting or some issue

[asad1129]

A have cockerel/pullet , want to know if this is normal molting for aseel or something needs to be done about it, just fyi winter is around the corner.

Also one more side question is this a boy or girl?

 

[_-Captain BRM-_]

Your bird is just molting. Can you send a picture of her head? I am leaning towards a hen as for gender but if you could snap a picture of the head, I would know for sure.

 

[Ebony Rose]

Looks like hard molt. Supplement protein to help them regrow their plumage. If your feed store doesn't offer protein supplements, you might consider a product that promotes feather growth (availability and brand names vary from place to place, ask your feed store). Using treats as supplements, you can offer hard boiled eggs, canned fish (looking at how skinny this bird is, I'd opt for something canned in oil, sunflower or olive oil would offer the extra calories and amino acid profile), shrimp shells (I usually eat most of the meat, but my flock goes crazy-happy with the heads, tails and shells when offered), cat food is also considered a decent supplemental protein source for molting birds.
Be advised that a hard molt can dramatically reduce the appetite, so packing loads of high-protein with high calories can be helpful.

 

[asad1129]

Looks like hard molt. Supplement protein to help them regrow their plumage. If your feed store doesn't offer protein supplements, you might consider a product that promotes feather growth (availability and brand names vary from place to place, ask your feed store). Using treats as supplements, you can offer hard boiled eggs, canned fish (looking at how skinny this bird is, I'd opt for something canned in oil, sunflower or olive oil would offer the extra calories and amino acid profile), shrimp shells (I usually eat most of the meat, but my flock goes crazy-happy with the heads, tails and shells when offered), cat food is also considered a decent supplemental protein source for molting birds.
Be advised that a hard molt can dramatically reduce the appetite, so packing loads of high-protein with high calories can be helpful.

Thanks, interesting you mentioned the loss of appetite here, but he / she is really active and has a great appetite , doesn't leave anything fed to the flock.

 

[Ebony Rose]

Not all birds experience the loss of appetite, but for those that do...it can become catastrophic.
If this bird is an adult, then I'm calling your bird skinny. Those 'drumsticks' look mighty bony.

 

[asad1129]

Not all birds experience the loss of appetite, but for those that do...it can become catastrophic.
If this bird is an adult, then I'm calling your bird skinny. Those 'drumsticks' look mighty bony.

Ok so now i am confused and a bit worried
Here is some more information: Its a pullet/cockerel not a fully grown adult, and it eats a lot, is active and has a full crop like the rest of the flock once done and yes i have checked the crop is empty over night. So, what else should i look out for to confirm if i have a problem at hand??

 

[Ebony Rose]

I am sorry. I did not mean to worry you. I was really only suggesting you keep an eye on this as this bird looks skinny, but now that you say it's not an adult, this could just be the lankiness of a 'teen'. It takes them awhile to add muscle mass since their entire 'childhood' is a constant molting fest as they grow so rapidly (high turnover of more feathers, more feathers, did I mention more feathers? ) Both muscle mass and feather production require a lot of protein. Birds prioritize feather production, so until they're adults, they tend to run a bit lean.
IF however, their poop is like water with bright green blobs, then you can worry as that would indicate that their intestines aren't processing food, just bile/water.
I guess you could also observe the flock and how this bird is being treated. Is anyone feather picking this individual? It does NOT look like that to me as I do not see any bloody spots or scabs.
As for gender, it's difficult for me to say without images of waddles, hackles & saddle feathers. Slender, pointy feathers at the neck or over the rump and/or red, usually well defined waddles at this age would point towards cockerel. Pullets that are approaching point of lay also start to pink up in the comb and waddles but usually have evenly spaced, wide oval tipped feathers at the tail. I can more easily determine gender between the ages of 4 to 8 weeks than I can in the teens. (it's a learning curve)

 

[asad1129]

Your bird is just molting. Can you send a picture of her head? I am leaning towards a hen as for gender but if you could snap a picture of the head, I would know for sure.

Thanks.... Here are a few more pics, lemme know if this works for you.

 

[_-Captain BRM-_]

Ok thanks! Looks like a hen!

 

[WhySayWhat]

What a cutie! That definitely looks like a hard molt to go through! I had a pullet get beat up and they ripped half her tail feathers out. I added plain geek yogurt and mashed banana to her daily food mash (she's a scissor beak and can't eat regular dry feed). I also turned some "higher than normal quality" scratch into fermented scratch to add as well. I wasn't expecting feather growth for some time and was very pleased to see her have new feather growth in a week or so. Different from a molt, of course, because her's was an injury...but I like to add plain yogurt for the probiotics every now and then anyway.