Molting hen

[ThePRfan]

Lately my hen,Little Red(PR)has been molting,well from what I think I see.Now just yesterday Mrs.Prissy decided to peck her chest,and i've been concerned since.
She's acting normal.Same atittude.What I am worried about is if she is being picked at.
Today she roosted on my lap,and I looked at her chest.I noticed some blood,as if they were pulled.Now I am positive she's molting,because out of the nowhere feathers fall,and dry skin falls out.
Is this hard molt,or is she being picked at?
-ThePRfan

 

[azygous]

It's possible it's both. If she's old enough for molt, around 18 months or older, and her feathers are falling out with a lot of flaky fall-out, this is the time of year for it. As new feathers emerge, they have a rich blood supply at the base, and this sometimes attracts picking. But they could be broken off by rough handling, too. This is one reason why molting chickens generally don't enjoy being handled during molt.

 

[ThePRfan]

Yeah,I never handle my molting birds for that exact reason,but should I take extra percausion?

 

[azygous]

No need to treat them as if they were fragile. Sometimes a pin feather is broken, and there may even be a lot of blood, but they survive.

If you observe any picking going on, you might want to paint the area with Blu-kote to prevent infection, and it sometimes discourages further picking by disguising the areas of pink, bare skin.