Molting?

[lablover]

I have a black EE (she lays a green egg) that appears (hopefully) to be molting, but I would just like to make sure. She is about 19 months I think, and only stopped laying a few weeks ago, if that long. One day I noticed a lot of black feathers laying around, and she seemed to be loosing them as she walked. When she was laying, I remember seeing a few feathers where she made a nest, which was unusual to see. Her head seems fine as far as feathers go, but her back is bare from the rooster. She's just starting to grow feathers there, but she's shedding them from about the base of her neck, down under her winds, and her thighs. I noticed today that she was acting different. She stood a bit hunched up, just looking around, definitely not her normal self. In the mornings, they get a mixture, of sunflower seeds, oats, and a scratch mixture from TSC. I gave her some of that, and she did go after the sunflower seeds, but she didn't seem all that interested. She just wanted to go to bed. It is a bit chilly, nowhere near freezing though. Is she okay, and what else can I do for her?

I have 2 other EE's. One is still laying. She also had feather damage from the rooster all summer, but her back and wing feathers have filled in again with small feathers. She lays about every 2-3 days. The other hen hasn't laid an egg in a few weeks, probably a bit longer than the black one has. But it seems that her feather loss happened a few months ago. She never really lost a noticeable amount on her body, I just saw them laying around. Still no egg from her though. My other hens are less than a year old.

 

[Judy]

It does sound like molting. She's the right age, and it's the right time of year. Molts vary a good deal and are much more obvious in some birds than others. They can make good use of extra protein during a molt as feathers are largely protein. It's a good time to check for lice/mites, just to be sure.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/580915/for-the-new-folks-that-havent-experienced-a-molt-yet/0_20

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/818674/are-these-some-kind-of-egg-clusters/0_20#post_11897957

 

[aart]

It does sound like molting. She's the right age, and it's the right time of year. Molts vary a good deal and are much more obvious in some birds than others. They can make good use of extra protein during a molt as feathers are largely protein. It's a good time to check for lice/mites, just to be sure.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/580915/for-the-new-folks-that-havent-experienced-a-molt-yet/0_20

Great thread linked there, thanks FW!