lossing feather

[ericmcginn5]

my chickens our lossing a lot of feathers i coulnt find mits or lice and they have never fought and i have not seen they fight \
do they molt this time of year

 

[TTracy]

Yep, they can molt this time of year!! I have 2 that just started molting and 1 just finishing up!

 

[aggiemae]

Five of our eight hens (ages 8-18mos) are at some stage of molting and one just laid her first post molt egg. The two RIR's our only "production" hens are the worse. One has no back and few wing feathers (also some of her new quills are bleeding to the point that the coop looked like a crime scene) the other one, the only one who has ever molted before, has lost nearly all the feathers on her head and neck.


From the worse molt 2013 thread:

This is Tutu and she needs to be entered into the Frizzle catagory. (she is actually a frazzle) I have more pictures of her sadness if you need them. This is her recovery from molting, you can see her new feathers on her chest. lol

 

[ericmcginn5]

my chickens ournt lossing that many feahers holly cow

 

[BantamLover21]

Yes, they can molt at this time of year, and I suspect that is what your chickens are doing. To help them molt faster, provide them with high protein treats, like mealworms, scrambled eggs, cat food, and other insects, but even without this, they will still probably finish molting in 1-3 months.

 

[Wyandottes7]

Chickens often molt at this time of year. As long as they are kept in a draft free place, they should be fine, even if it gets cold.