loosing teathers

[chixnva]

I have five chickens, two are 18 months old the other three are about 8 months old. One of my older chip has lost a lot of feathers...tail,wings and on her body. Is she being pecked on? Have isolated her for now. Will her feathers grow back?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

It's normal and part of poultry keeping.
Chickens always molt around the second autumn and every one thereafter. Birds hatched early in the year may molt their first autumn. They lose all their feathers in sequences and grow a new winter coat. All birds molt.
It's a necessary process to replace those that get lost or broken throughout the year.

 

[chixnva]

yes but it is now in the low teens at night here won't it get too cold for her to be in the coop?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

She'll be fine. It just got cold early this year. My Jaerhons always molted in January.

 

[chixnva]

Yes but it has been getting down into the teens at night, won't it be too cold for her with all there bare spots?

 

[chixnva]

Ok thanks for the advise. I really appreciate it. Will let her go back out with the others and just keep an eye on her.

 

[aldarita]

It's normal and part of poultry keeping.
Chickens always molt around the second autumn and every one thereafter. Birds hatched early in the year may molt their first autumn. They lose all their feathers in sequences and grow a new winter coat. All birds molt.
It's a necessary process to replace those that get lost or broken throughout the year.

I was just wondering about that, I have 6 pullets that were born on March 25 and started molting last month. I was concerned about that, I thought they were too young to molt, then I read somewhere that when you put young pullets and hens in the same coop, when the hens start molting the pullets molt too and nobody can explain why this happens, it just happens. I guess I should not worry about it then.