Molting question

[flock mommasan]

My Rockette is suddenly molting -- much later than the other gals in the flock. They are all about 14 months old now and it's starting to getting cold here in Central California (well, cold for us!). My concern is that she has these spots on her lower check and in the back underneath that are completely bare. I'll attach pictures. Is this normal? The others never got this bad and all have beautiful new feathers now.

I probably wouldn't be so concerned but I recently (month and a half?) lost a Wyndotte during her molt -- she started acting kind of strange for two weeks or so and when I found her lying on the coop floor hardly breathing I noticed she was quite light weight. Couldn't find anything obviously wrong with her. Rockette isn't acting particularly strange nor is she that light so I'm hoping all this is just a normal -- albeit quick starting -- molt.

Thoughts?

 

[Kiki]

I don't see anything particularly not normal about her molt.
She looks fine to me.
Is she eating well?


Your last girl (sorry for your loss) what exactly was she doing that was off?
The kind of strange acting part.

 

[flock mommasan]

I don't see anything particularly not normal about her molt.
She looks fine to me.
Is she eating well?


Your last girl (sorry for your loss) what exactly was she doing that was off?
The kind of strange acting part.

Yes, Rockette seems to be eating well -- and is active. I was hoping what I was seeing was normal!

The other one, Winnie, seemed to lose her mojo -- she was always low hen on the pecking order but she just seemed especially anxious at times. And then we started finding her off on her own or lying underneath bushes when the others would come running for mealworms. She kind of slowed down and would look kind of dazed sometimes. As you can tell, I'm new to all this so not sure what to look for....

 

[Kiki]

Could Winnie have been bullied too much...kept away from the food too much?

I guess we will never really know what happened to her.

Just keep an eye on Miss Rockette...she should be ok during her molt, she may not feel too hot so she may not eat as much while molting..just keep an eye on her.

 

[flock mommasan]

Could Winnie have been bullied too much...kept away from the food too much?

I guess we will never really know what happened to her.

Just keep an eye on Miss Rockette...she should be ok during her molt, she may not feel too hot so she may not eat as much while molting..just keep an eye on her.

I suppose it's possible that Winnie could have been bullied too much but I never really saw a lot of evidence of it -- mostly one or two of the alphas would chase her or peck at her if she got around them or close to food that they were eating. I have a large coop so I'd be surprised if she was kept from the food entirely as there's often food on the ground. But I'll watch for that.

Rockette is one of the alphas, even though she's also one of the smaller ones, so I don't worry about her not getting her fair share of food!

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Peeps61]

I'm sorry about Winnie. I have over thirty birds, and my older rooster even molted along with the older girls this year. I usually get chicks in the spring so that I'll have eggs through the winter months while the older girls take a break and molt. Some of my molting hens look downright moth eaten! Your hen looks perfectly normal for a molt - I have feathers all over the place out by the barn where I have my coops! What a mess.

 

[Mrs. K]

Sometimes birds just die. They are a bit fragile. But they can be born with internal issues that really don't interfere until the bird gets bigger.

A good rule of thumb, is if they are eating, active, with bright eyes they are probably just fine. Your bird looks good to me. Some molts are horrible. Once I had one that lost nearly all her feathers overnight, it looked like a pillow fight, or I thought a predator had got in there... but if they molt hard, then they generally get over it fast too.

MRs K

 

[flock mommasan]

I'm sorry about Winnie. I have over thirty birds, and my older rooster even molted along with the older girls this year. I usually get chicks in the spring so that I'll have eggs through the winter months while the older girls take a break and molt. Some of my molting hens look downright moth eaten! Your hen looks perfectly normal for a molt - I have feathers all over the place out by the barn where I have my coops! What a mess.

Good idea about getting chicks in the Spring -- my husband is already talking about replacing Winnie. I think he's become a crazy chicken lady, too! We're having fun with our girls.

Thanks for the feedback about molting -- there were a ton more feathers this morning so she's losing them quickly. Here's hoping they come back quickly, too!

 

[flock mommasan]

Sometimes birds just die. They are a bit fragile. But they can be born with internal issues that really don't interfere until the bird gets bigger.

A good rule of thumb, is if they are eating, active, with bright eyes they are probably just fine. Your bird looks good to me. Some molts are horrible. Once I had one that lost nearly all her feathers overnight, it looked like a pillow fight, or I thought a predator had got in there... but if they molt hard, then they generally get over it fast too.

MRs K

Yes, we just assumed there were some sort of internal issues with Winnie -- who knows. I feel bad because she was my cuddly chicken -- always jumping up in my lap. At least she died quietly and I got to comfort her a bit.

This is my first experience with molting -- it's really something! It's amazing how beautiful they look again when the new feathers come in, though!

 

[Peeps61]

Good idea about getting chicks in the Spring -- my husband is already talking about replacing Winnie. I think he's become a crazy chicken lady, too! We're having fun with our girls.

Thanks for the feedback about molting -- there were a ton more feathers this morning so she's losing them quickly. Here's hoping they come back quickly, too!

They will - and they will be lovely, shiny feathers.