Molting & Pecking

[dcfi20]

Good morning
How can you tell if the hens are getting peck or is it molting on the back end of hens, they are 15 months old and the backend feathers are gone, it looks like new ones are trying to grow back, some hens are red on the back end and some are normal?

 

[hencam]

When hens molt it can be just a few feathers a day, or they can all of a sudden look almost naked! You'll know it's molting because there will be lots of feathers on the ground - big and small ones, and all in perfect condition. Your hen will look scruffy. In the newly bare areas you'll see quills pushing up through the skin - it can look quite raw, but not red. OTOH, if your hen is being pecked at, you'll see feathers picked off from just one spot, and a raw and sometimes bleeding area. You won't see piles of fluffy feathers in the run. You might find a few mangled ones.
The first molt occurs around 14 to 16 months and if you've never seen it before, it can be quite alarming! Sometimes, the bare skin on the molting hen stimulates others to peck. If so, spritz with Blu-kote to darken it. I've photos of molting hens on my blog post here. http://www.hencam.com/henblog/2010/11/more-molting/ Search my archives and you'll find more about feather loss.

 

[dcfi20]

How long dose it take to get feathers back, The hens are going to the fair for a show the end of August?

 

[krittersorus]

Can hens molt at only 6 months old?