Odd feathers on neck

[jools2014]

Hi all,

My Buff Orpington looks a bit strange on the back of the neck area-like the feathers are not completely grown and can also see some white tips. Is it just from moulting? Sh was moulting about 3 months ago but the rest of her looks fine her neck feathers just look a bit odd. Is it just the feathers growing back, does it take this long? Could it be something else to be concerned about? She seems perfectly healthy in every other way, I just panic anytime I see something slightly unusual.

 

[chrissynemetz]

Can you try to get some pictures of her?

 

[jools2014]

Hi, I already tried on my phone but they didn't come out very clear, you couldn't really see what I mean. They basically just look like half grown out feathers with bits of white on them on the top of the neck.

 

[Saaniya]

Hi all,

My Buff Orpington looks a bit strange on the back of the neck area-like the feathers are not completely grown and can also see some white tips. Is it just from moulting? Sh was moulting about 3 months ago but the rest of her looks fine her neck feathers just look a bit odd. Is it just the feathers growing back, does it take this long? Could it be something else to be concerned about? She seems perfectly healthy in every other way, I just panic anytime I see something slightly unusual.

Hi,
Can you post a picture of feathers? Will be great and helpful!
Well, chicken genetics are awesome they give different patterns of feathers there's no worry about it

 

[coach723]

Without some good pictures we will just be guessing. If she's molting it could be pin feathers which will sometimes look white from the shafts (see below). Sometimes feathers don't come in exactly the same color as they were before. She also may be getting feather picked, which could cause them to look frayed. Back of the head/neck is also a place that roosters hang on when mounting, so feather damage can happen from that. Also make sure no lice/mites. Better help might come with some pictures.
Pin feather example:

 

[jools2014]

Yes! I would say it pretty much looks like that rooster, but it doesn't show up so much or look so bad on my hen as shes a light orange colour. We don't have a rooster so it's not from that or getting pecked. Do you think they are still growing back from her moult 3 months ago or shes moulting again? Can lice/mites cause that look as well?

 

[coach723]

They can't reach that part of the neck to preen as easily as they do with the rest of their bodies, so it can take longer for feather shafts to come off. A slow or soft molt can go on for a fair while sometimes. A general average molt time can be 8 - 12 weeks, and that can vary greatly from bird to bird and from year to year. So it is possible that this is still the tail end of her molt.

 

[jools2014]

Thanks that's really helpful Now I'm just wondering if she's finishing molting or coming into molt though-she's been quite stressed lately since her sister died-they did everything together and I think she's really missing her. Possibly the stress has brought on a molt (because I read they usually start molting from the neck down) I hope that's not the case though and it's from her last molt. Usually I'd have known what it was but I thought she was done losing feathers ages ago so I was surprised to see her neck feathers look so odd.

 

[coach723]

The 'norm' says they often molt from the head/neck down. But that doesn't always happen. There is a wide range of normal, and honestly if you have chickens long enough you think you have seen just about everything. 'Normal' becomes a very elastic thing! Anyone whom has woken up to find a feather explosion and a nearly bald bird can tell you that 'from the neck down' just doesn't always happen. I've had them lose tail feathers first many times. If she's very stressed that can trigger a molt, or a mini molt. Or it may just be the remainder of what she was already doing. If all else seems well, I would just keep an eye on her and try not to worry too much.

 

[jools2014]

Thank you! That puts my mind at ease a little I worry about every little thing now because of how well chickens hide illness. I've taken them to the vet before thinking they're just a bit under the weather to find they're really ill and nothing they can do so now I panic at anything different. Yeh I mainly just notice the feathers everywhere when they are molting and yes the tail feathers go! I wouldn't have noticed her neck but I was examining her really closely to check everything was ok (something I probably should do more often with my birds) but that caused me to panic lol.

Thanks guys you've been really helpful I'll just keep an eye on here from now on.