Molting??? Silkie is going bald!

[Silkie2]

My silkie is going bald around her neck and crest! The poor girl hardly has a crest anymore! Her sister (both were from the same batch at feed store, so I call them sisters lol) is just a fluff ball! But Twix is complete opposite
I don't know if she's molting or not. Do silkies loose there crest feathers during a molt? I've only had these silkies for a little over a year, and this is my first time owning this breed, so I'm not sure if the molt the same as my other hens. I can't tell if the other hens are picking on her, she doesn't seem to have any scabs or anything..?? She acts completely normal.

(I made a thread like this before, but she seems to be getting worse)

 

[Silkie2]

Anyone have any ideas on what i should do??

 

[Silkie2]

Ok why do I see people answering other threads but mine?? I don't mean to sound mean or anything, it's just weird how my threads hardly get any answers. Was it something I said or say?? Or is this just a stupid question lol

Could someone please help????

 

[ChickenLover200]

I would say another chicken(s) is picking on her. What I do for my girls that have lighter skin is spray blue kote on the exposed skin so they can't see it to peck on, but never had this happen with a silkie, so have no clue.

 

[Silkie2]

I would say another chicken(s) is picking on her. What I do for my girls that have lighter skin is spray blue kote on the exposed skin so they can't see it to peck on, but never had this happen with a silkie, so have no clue.

I thought so too but she doesn't seem to have any scabs or is bleeding?? Usually I would think she would start bleeding in one spot before a chicken pecked out her neck feathers (if that makes sense lol) you could be right though. Thank you for responding!

I'd like to here what others have to say

 

[Silkie2]

......Still just waiting.....

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about your silkie. I don' t know if I can add anything to help or not. How old is she? Could she be starting a molt? I would say she is either molting, or her feathers are being pecked out by others. I don't see anything on her skin that looks like fungus or wounds. Sometimes they will stand around and let others "groom them" and whenever the new feathers come in, those are grabbed out again. I had silkies for 4 years, and never recall even noticing that they molted, except for maybe their tail feathers. Does she spend a lot of time with another chicken? Maybe, if your coop is large enough for a dog crate to put her in with food and water, you could confine her for a week to see if any feathers start growing in. Some people use bad tasting ointments like BagBalm or creams like NuStock on bare spots to prevent pecking. Nustock is opaque, smelly, but I think that could be a good choice. It is found in some feed stores, but you can get it online.

 

[Silkie2]

Sorry about your silkie. I don' t know if I can add anything to help or not. How old is she? Could she be starting a molt? I would say she is either molting, or her feathers are being pecked out by others. I don't see anything on her skin that looks like fungus or wounds. Sometimes they will stand around and let others "groom them" and whenever the new feathers come in, those are grabbed out again. I had silkies for 4 years, and never recall even noticing that they molted, except for maybe their tail feathers. Does she spend a lot of time with another chicken? Maybe, if your coop is large enough for a dog crate to put her in with food and water, you could confine her for a week to see if any feathers start growing in. Some people use bad tasting ointments like BagBalm or creams like NuStock on bare spots to prevent pecking. Nustock is opaque, smelly, but I think that could be a good choice. It is found in some feed stores, but you can get it online.

Ok thank you for your response. We do have some type of ointment in the barn but I think it's just to protect wounds from flys. She lives with about 30 other chickens, along with one other silkie.

 

[SilkieLadee]

Sorry for the late reply but I only found this recently. You can get a feed called feather fixer that will help greatly. Also feed her oatmeal and calf manna. She needs lots of protein and vitamins.

 

[Simimaus]

Ok why do I see people answering other threads but mine?? I don't mean to sound mean or anything, it's just weird how my threads hardly get any answers. Was it something I said or say?? Or is this just a stupid question lol

Could someone please help????

Not a stupid question. I just found this trying to find out if Silkies molt. Mine hasn’t started yet. But if they do, she should do so this fall.