Molt part 2 ???

Ascholten

Free Ranging
Dec 12, 2020
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Jacksonville, FL
Ok, I have a hen. She went through mold a few months ago... at least I thought... it wasn't too horrible but she did lose some feathers... you know... the usual thing... or is it??

This past week, well, she looks HORRIBLE !! She took off half way flying today. (Ok it's a ritual with them) I let the girls out, they come out of the 'hole' i make for them to come out of the coop, they poke around for a minute then they ALL flap their wings and while never quite leaving the ground, all run under the boat, flapping wildly but never really leaving the ground. Im thinking it's them exercising.

Anyways.... she took off today and it looked like someone got in a pillow fight and busted a feather pillow over their brothers head!! Feathers flying all over the place. She must have lost half her feathers in that pseudo flght! She looks horrible now. She's a golden comet but looks more like a garbage disposal survivor !@]

Health seems perfect, she eats with them, plenty of energy... however now she's .. 'don't touch me' now like the other one was in molt. so I am assuming this is molt... but she molted 2 months ago too....

can chickens have 2 molts right after another or molt in stages? Kind of confused what's going on here, was hoping she'd get back to egg laying here, but now... well yah, it's going to be another few weeks.

Is this kind of, sort of normal, or is something happening that I need to look into more?

Thanks
Aaron
 
Mine sometimes start loosing a few and then boom feathers everywhere, each bird is a bit different depending on genetics, some molt incredibly slow and will as a result be slower to start laying again, others molt faster… the whole process can take anywhere from 2-6 months depending on the hens genetics.

Obviously faster is better if you want lots of yummy eggs.

You can get an idea of how long a hen may molt by looking at specific feathers on her wing... the 10 primary on her wing, a bird drops primaries roughly every two weeks and takes 6 weeks to regrow each one… a slow molter drops one primary at a time, a fast molten will loose multiple primaries together thus speeding up the process. Slow molters can take up to 24 weeks to regrow their feathers.

Most chickens are sort of between the two extremes of 2 months vs 6 months.

During molt you might want to up their protein a bit and give vitamin supplement to help encourage feather growth and prevent behavior problems.

I hope this helps.
 
Wow, lots of info, thank you so much Laura !!
Ive seen a month typically on my flock. One she took oh a few weeks and she was laying again, .. this one, this is the I guess you could call it, first normal molt, the first year molt I really don't think can count too much since they are kids, just getting into the whole worldly thing etc etc. 2 to 6 months, ugh... She never did seem to lose a lot of feathers so I better assume she's one of the slower ones.

Upping the protein, how can I do this? If I up the protein overall, and the rest of them who are more normal eat it, is that going to hurt them? I mean, catfish pellets for ponds have probably close to double protein than chicken pellets, can I mix some of them in, is there a liquid i give her (thankfully she's one of the friendlier ones who loves to be picked up and ruffled ) what would you recommend the best way for this??

Thank you
Aaron
 
I just give mine a bit of game feed or meat grower mixed in with their normal feed. I usually just read some labels and pick one with a bit more protein. A little cat food works too (just a bit) but if you give them too much fish based feed the eggs will taste fishy… chicken egg taste and yolk consistency and color is very much effected by feed.

They don’t need a huge increase just enough to support them a bit more. I have also added things like black sunflower and kelp to my birds diets, vitamins in the water…

I have come to suspect that is why there is a huge difference in egg studies for human health between the West and Asia, difference in feed = difference in cholesterol numbers for example. Just my gut after reading lots of feed studies revolving around laying industry around the globe fir alternative feed ideas…

Watch them during molt, you want to make sure they don’t start eating each others pin feathers.
 
Thank you again, and no that has never been a problem, thank god, that they start picking on each other, at each other to the point they are causing damage or etc. it happened a few times with new bird intro's and pecking order re alignments but once it's all good, THEY have been...all good.

I can get black sunflower seeds fairly cheap so i'll grab some and mix them in. My main concern was, if ONE needs extra protein that's an easy fix, but if ALL don't need it, giving it to ALL, will that be an issue? Im thinking if just for a few weeks during a molt it should not but will always take advice from others when it comes to the health of my girls.

Thank you
Aaron

PS. the egg. vs . nutrient studies. that's an entire new thread there so won't delve here. I agree with what you are saying though!! Different cultures, different feeds... different outcomes~~!
 
A little extra protein won’t hurt the whole flock. Just do like a 50/50 mix for a bit if it is feed + feed. If you add the seeds just mix some in, the girls will pick out what they want.

Hugs your doing great, and glad they are being good about the pin feathers.
 
The pin feathers, its . well now that I look back, it's kind of funny.

I normally grab them up, give them a kind of, not so much chest but a big chicken hug, who's my favorite GIRL !!! rub them with my chin, then put them down and ruffle them up with my hands, ending with a little tug on the tail and they fluff out and shake waggle the tail and strut off, only about 2 or 3 seconds though, because the moment they are done ruffling, they turn right around and are looking for treats! :D

When they are molting though, I'll try to rub their back, but they'll duck down, kind of like they want to submit, but will crawl out and walk out of my reach. It's funny because Midnight, I got to where I'd not even try with her because I knew she was molting, but when she was done, I knew she was done because all of the sudden one day, she's right there, im petting the others and she squats right in front of me, instead of walking out of my reach.

Yes it's fun, being able to bond with your flock, for lack of a better word, but also, being able to grab each one and run your hands over them like that, it also lets you feel to see if there are any problems. any crunchies that don't belong, ticks or stuff on you, does she cringe, ie, something hurting her etc?

I also have a cockatoo in the house and if I DON'T give him a daily rub down, oh dear lord I WILL hear about that!! and LOUDLY TOO!! :p

I guess the personal 1 on 1 attention carries over to the yardbirds too!

Aaron
 
Bonding makes a huge difference. They all have different personalities and are so fun to interact with.

I’ve had birds with senses of humor, that loved to be the center of attention, protective and the complete opposite aloft like a cat “human serve me” attitude... but all fun. Our first chicken ever learned voice commands. I have been meaning to try an experiment on hatching eggs to see if chicks bond better if you play your voice near the eggs while they are incubated… just an idea.

They remember people, how they are treated and have quirks that make me giggle. Bad day at work, time to go commune with the chickens and do Taekwondo. 😂
 
Oh absolutely !! No matter how crappy people treat you, with their fragile little ego's and all the games they play for attention, a pet, any pet really, loves you unconditionally, and it's genuine, not some game to try to manipulate like people do.

Meditate / Commune, do whatever you want to call it, just don't leave any snacks within eyesight or they'll be confiscated and cropped, and your pet will like you just a wee bit more :D

The hatching eggs, hearing your voice, that would be a very interesting experiment indeed. I believe there have been some studies done with something just like that where they proved that animals DID bond, because the voice was recognized. Im not entirely sure that a chicken is smart enough to bond on voice, like a dog, or.. a cockatoo or intelligent big bird would, and am more inclined to think that chickens are more 'treat activated'.

Their personalities though, yah, its amazing how they DO differ and how much they can differ..

Aaron
 

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