no eggs losing feathers

[jake99]

could someone help with two questions please, my 1 1/2 yr old plymouth rock hasn't laid an egg in a week and is losing feathers rapidly
is this normal, its a bad time for that in new england. also my 4 month old rhode island red sometimes eats the discarded feathers. anyone help. thanks jq

 

[emys]

Your Plymouth Rock is molting. It is normal for other birds to eat discarded feathers. To help your girl through the molt faster, try offering game bird feed (or other high protein feed) for a few weeks and giving her some extra black oil sunflower seeds in shell as a treat. Cut back on all low protein treats like scratch for a bit. Greens are always OK.

 

[Judy]

She is molting (moulting) which they do tend to do when it seems too cold to do so. The feather eating may mean nothing, or it may mean she needs more protein. The one who is moulting could use some protein supplement right now to help her grow her new feathers, anyway.

 

[elmo]

It's likely she's molting...do a search here on that topic and you'll find lots of information. It's common for birds to stop laying during molt.

Feather eating is also pretty common. Feathers are made from protein, so it's a way for them to add protein to their diet. Some people offer supplemental protein for birds in molt (because regrowing feathers requires protein). Mashed up hardboiled eggs are good, and some people also offer cat food.

 

[sourland]

She's molting, and she better hurry up as winter is coming. Try adding some dry cat food to their diet as a source of protein. Hopefully she'll have her new feathers before snow ball time.