Moulting?? Pullet not laying lost tail and some neck feathers

[MBH]

Hi All,

We live in the pacific north west (so not that cold) and have 3 chickens who we believe are amarucanas/olive eggers/Easter Eggers.

All just started laying this fall. Our first girl to lay (blue eggs) was pretty consistent. When the others started laying she became more inconsistent. In November we stopped getting eggs all together from her. We thought due to light lessening and assumed she was more sensitive then the other two who are still laying. Yesterday I noticed she suddenly lost all her long fancy tail feathers and had lost some feathers around her neck not enough to show skin at all but it looks messy and unkept. She seems ok she has always been out most skiddish girl. No other injuries that I can see no obvious pecking other two seem fine and are laying daily.

What could this be?? Lice? Moulting? Not enough day light...? Stress..?

Help please!!! I don't know what steps to take to figure out her issue.

 

[SueT]

Molting....is very likely....but I have a
Question.....whats all this wood all around her, looks like scraps with nails sticking out????? Do they have a safe environment?

 

[MBH]

Yes of course it's safe my husband made a roosting bar for them out of scrap wood. There are no nails what you can see is part of a screw that is attaching the brace for the roost. I was trying to zoom in on the hen as she is rather skiddish and ran to the other side of the run. Here is what the full run looks like....

 

[junebuggena]

Just molting. All of my Easter Egger pullets molt if they are over 8 months old by October. They seem to be more sensitive to the shortening daylight hours than some other breeds.

 

[Hen_Lady]

Looks like a nice space for your chickens. Could be lice, check her feathers carefully and the light could be why she is not laying. How are the other chickens doing?

 

[dunnmom]

Probably is molting. If the feathers aren't broken off at the shaft, it's more likely to be molting than anything else. As long as she seems otherwise healthy and happy, you can probably avoid having to catch her for inspection for the moment.

 

[MBH]

What does lice look like?

 

[MBH]

Probably is molting. If the feathers aren't broken off at the shaft, it's more likely to be molting than anything else. As long as she seems otherwise healthy and happy, you can probably avoid having to catch her for inspection for the moment.

How long does moulting take? Would it make sense for her to slow down then stop laying for a month or two while she moults..?

 

[junebuggena]

Molting can take anywhere from 3 months to 2 weeks. It varies from bird to bird. Some are very slow molters, dropping feathers so gradually that you hardly notice it. Others go almost completely bald in a few hours. Growing those feathers back in takes up all their energy, leaving nothing left for egg production.

 

[MBH]

Looks like a nice space for your chickens. Could be lice, check her feathers carefully and the light could be why she is not laying. How are the other chickens doing?

Other hens seem ok one other one looks like she had some feathers out of place ruffled a bit I guess.

Here is a better picture they came to the house to dust bathe.