Molting question

[Thancock760]

Fries looks to be molting for the first time. Does a polish molt it’s crest as well? I honestly don’t know

 

[sourland]

Yes they do, and frequently as the pin/blood feathers appear other birds in the flock start pecking them out. This seems to happen most frequently in a mixed flock.

 

[Thancock760]

Yes they do, and frequently as the pin/blood feathers appear other birds in the flock start pecking them out. This seems to happen most frequently in a mixed flock.

Thank you! Very good to know. She is one of the top hens- but I will keep an eye out when her crest starts molting to make sure they aren’t picking it.

 

[sdm111]

Also as a side note. It is said that they are extremely sensitive when growing new feathers out so it's advised to not handle them much

 

[Thancock760]

Also as a side note. It is said that they are extremely sensitive when growing new feathers out so it's advised to not handle them much

Yes, unless she needs to be moved out from picking, I will leave her be.

 

[ChickenTender1203]

I have a polish rooster and we had to take him inside the garage to recover last year because his head feathers kept getting pecked out. We kept him with one or two of our friendlier hens so he wasn't completely isolated. He was doing fine this year until he got left in the pen with our younger flock and they ripped out every growing feather on his head. We're gonna try not to isolate him but definitely provide a little more protein for him and make sure he gets out of the pen every day. The problem is that he wont do anything about it if they pick on him.