Is This Typical For Molting?

[Teila]

Hi

I am a slightly worried chicken mum. I have never experienced a molt before; only having chickens for a couple of years. Dusty is a 15 month old Bantam Langshan. She regularly laid an egg every day or so until recently when she stretched that out to every 3-4 days and two weeks ago she stopped laying. During this period she initially lost two symetric, vertical, 3cm rows of feathers on either side of her vent which looked a bit like a zipper and new feathers have come through. There have been a few black feathers around the place and I figured she was mini-molting. But today, when I get home, it looks like someone has replaced Dusty with a chicken which has had a couple of losing bouts with a chicken plucker! Black feathers everywhere and she now has some bare patches.

I am fairly vigilant with the Pestene for mite and lice and when I picked her up today, she still has a good weight and besides not laying and looking like a Dusty-imposter, she seems fine, eating, drinking, scrounging around etc. She still has a nice red comb, healthy looking poops and there are no nasties on her or in the coop or nest boxes.

Does this sound and look like typical molting?

 

[CrazyChookLady5]

it looks normal to me, but I'm not expert

 

[aart]

All chickens molt at different rates. As long as there are no parasites or other signs of illness, I would say 'normal'.

 

[Basil G]

That's what my girls looked like when they decided that molting in the winter was a good idea(when it was like negative something here in the northeast us)

 

[Teila]

Phew! Thank You all for your responses

I confess to coming home, seeing the state she was in, feathers everywhere and hitting the panic button! As you do! lol

I have frantically been trawling my way through numerous web sites and besides not starting at the head and neck, it does sound like a molt.

I picked her up and she didn't seem too happy about it ... I have since learnt that it can be painful and not to pick them up unless you have to. Now I just feel like a mean mum

Lots of love and protein for her.

Thanks again!