Ended Official BYC Contest - Worst Chicken Molt Pictures - Fall-Winter 2016

[ShrekDawg]

I came back from vacation and she was half her normal size! I told her her butt looked like a soccer mom haircut!

Oh wow! Hahah

 

[cjperrault1]

One of my Frizzle Easter Eggers. This photo was taken 8/14/2016. Her name is Fancy, though she had a hard time living up to that name for a while.

god

 

[junebuggena]

My first chickens haven't been through a hard molt yet, they are just now 8 months old so i'll be expecting their first hard molt later this year or early fall. My question is should I remove the rooster during the molt? I know the rooster can during mating make the girls look a little ratty and if a lot of feathers are missing I would think that could cause a problem. I do have extra space to house the roaster away from the girls but still in site of them. I just want to make them as comfortable as possible during hard molt.

My boys stay with the flock. The shorter days of fall does have an effect on the drive of a male bird, just like it affects a hen's ability to produce eggs. Plus, a molting hen is a pretty crabby creature to be around. If a rooster has any sense at all, he will steer clear. I have a few hens that flog the roosters if they even try to dance.

 

[Shezadandy]

Poor Earnie, my little Easter Egger with one tail feather and many uncomfortable new face feathers just a few days ago.
Not as good as some others, but pathetic none the less! For the "all-others" entry.

Her "real" self (in case she looks like she's just gray)

 

[Amelia Egghart]

It's certainly not a bad idea. My heaviest molters hid away from the rest of the flock as much as possible, and especially from the roosters. It's a very stressful time for them. 

I noticed my rooster left the molting girls alone. Heavy molters tend to quit laying for a bit and the roosters must sense the hormone shift. But if you only have a few girls and they're enclosed in a run together with the roo, then separating might be a good idea.

 

[TheKeeper]

Here's my worst one this year



She an olive egger (Golden Cuckoo Marans X Wheaten Ameraucana) who spent most of the year broody.

 

[Sandy001]

I don't think me nor my girls are going to like this thing called molting. It will be our first time later this year. The girls will be a year old May 4th.

 

[Sandy001]

Quote:
Oh My Goodness!!!! Bless her little heart...

 

[MamaPenguin]

My Welsummer - Thelma. Her sister Louise is happy as she hasn't molted yet.

I have a Thelma (RIR) and a Louise too - Red Star.!!! My Louise gives me the biggest brown eggs and is a great layer!!

 

[lovemy6hens]

All Other Breeds

Aunt Jemima doesn't look too bad from the top, but a different angle shows how bad it was. I wish we had a picture taken before the feathers started growing back in.