Ended Official BYC Contest—Post Your Best (Worst) Chicken Molt Pictures - 2021

[MandaRae]

Oh boy, now I’ve got a streaker in the run!! Her heinie’s nekid!! Poor Dottie lost all of her tail feathers and then some today. Every time she moved, she left a trail of feathers…

Here’s early this morning.

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And this is in the afternoon…

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My speckled Sussex butt looks the same

 

[Mmanist]

Non frizzle
This lovely beast is Goldie. She is going through a rough molt this year. She will be 5 this coming spring!

Update... today I asked her to put on a bra.

 

[Farmgirl1878]

I told my husband today that it looks like a massacre

It does! I’m getting tired of raking feathers out of the sand and I’m almost afraid to go out there this morning to see the results of last night’s pillow fights!

 

[Mmanist]

It does! I’m getting tired of raking feathers out of the sand and I’m almost afraid to go out there this morning to see the results of last night’s pillow fights!

Told my husband looks like a coyote ran off with our hens, and a racoon brought them back!

 

[theoldchick]

 

[3KillerBs]

I don't know if she'll progress to a competitive level or not, but Dumpling, my Light Brahma, is starting to look like a used mop:

She has no tail left at all, very few foot feathers, and couldn't fly even before her flight feathers started dropping.

But she'll be glorious once she recovers.

 

[Killyhawker]

So, here’s a crazy question… if egg laying production goes down in the winter and goes down during the molt(summer-ish), when stressed or hatching chicks (broody girls don’t lay)… when are you supposed to expect the best/most egg laying? My girls laid eggs best in the summer and most are molting during the fall(now). I’m sure it’s all relative and can’t be narrowed to just one thing. I feed them gamebird food (30% Protein), black oil seeds, grain/corn/oat mix and mealworm treats. Not to mention daily house scraps.
I do wonder if they are still recovering from the stress of moving to a new state in April. The stress of a new rooster among my other two Silkie roosters—Probably should have a sectioned off rooster pen, I think a few hatched chicks are going to be roos

I have 3 roosters (too many, but I love the two.) 9 hens: 4 every other day laying, 3 broody/no eggs, 1 was laying—now isn’t, 1pullet not old enough to lay yet. 5 new hatched chicks…Not worried really. Just a topic.

 

[Fluffy Lambs]

So, here’s a crazy question… if egg laying production goes down in the winter and goes down during the molt(summer-ish), when stressed or hatching chicks (broody girls don’t lay)… when are you supposed to expect the best/most egg laying? My girls laid eggs best in the summer and most are molting during the fall(now). I’m sure it’s all relative and can’t be narrowed to just one thing. I feed them gamebird food (30% Protein), black oil seeds, grain/corn/oat mix and mealworm treats. Not to mention daily house scraps.
I do wonder if they are still recovering from the stress of moving to a new state in April. The stress of a new rooster among my other two Silkie roosters—Probably should have a sectioned off rooster pen, I think a few hatched chicks are going to be roos

I have 3 roosters (too many, but I love the two.) 9 hens: 4 every other day laying, 3 broody/no eggs, 1 was laying—now isn’t, 1pullet not old enough to lay yet. 5 new hatched chicks…Not worried really. Just a topic.

@U_Stormcrow

 

[pennyJo1960]

So, here’s a crazy question… if egg laying production goes down in the winter and goes down during the molt(summer-ish), when stressed or hatching chicks (broody girls don’t lay)… when are you supposed to expect the best/most egg laying? My girls laid eggs best in the summer and most are molting during the fall(now). I’m sure it’s all relative and can’t be narrowed to just one thing. I feed them gamebird food (30% Protein), black oil seeds, grain/corn/oat mix and mealworm treats. Not to mention daily house scraps.
I do wonder if they are still recovering from the stress of moving to a new state in April. The stress of a new rooster among my other two Silkie roosters—Probably should have a sectioned off rooster pen, I think a few hatched chicks are going to be roos

I have 3 roosters (too many, but I love the two.) 9 hens: 4 every other day laying, 3 broody/no eggs, 1 was laying—now isn’t, 1pullet not old enough to lay yet. 5 new hatched chicks…Not worried really. Just a topic.

Might you should start a new thread on this JMHO

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Agree - better in a new thread, and I've not been doing this long enough I can answer comfortably, except to say its my understanding (note that I did NOT say my experience!) that most birds typically start to go into molt in fall and are refeathered for Winter, then pop eggs like mad in Spring and Summer.

Seemingly lots of posts this year about early and lengthy molts.