Official Contest: Worst Chicken Molt Pictures - Winner!

[jossanne]

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16mo is a normal time to molt. I don't know what that poster was talking about with mites, because of patches of missing feathers with red skin. That's how my birds always look when molting, and the red skin is caused by the sun. Naked necks have red necks because of exposure to sunshine. Exposed skin turns red. My girls look like that for a little bit, then they feather back out beautifully. If there were mites, they just wouldn't feather back out.

 

[BWKatz]

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Maybe she's embarassed.

 

[BWKatz]

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Looks like she has on what used to be called pettie pants. LOL.

 

[ourlittleflock]

I think...

Scarlett and Alex are long lost sisters...

 

[WizChick]

This is my girl Charlie at her worst.

The hardest part for me is seeing her feathers returning a much lighter color

 

[teach1rusl]

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Scarlett has SUCH a pretty face

I imagine she must be one gorgeous little hen when she's feathered out. I think I feel worse for the roosters in some of these pics though, because they are most use to looking so fancy and proud...for some, molting is a LONG way to fall

 

[Nava]

Alex Update: she is growing some feathers, I guess she is getting ready for a harsh florida winter

BEFORE

AFTER , Can you see!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

before

after

Look can you see them grow

 

[MaransGuy]

x
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It does certainly look like some of the birds pictured do have mites/lice and there is a fairly easy way to tell. Bare patches and red skin are NOT necessarily a sign of mites and can be normal. The big, red flag is feather shafts with no webbing left on it. That is NOT a normal sign of molting and is NOT normal wear and tear on old feathers. That is a result of feather lice chewing all of the vanes off the main shaft. There is no other reason for this. Most of the time, whenever you find feathers that are still on the bird that have a broken or chewed appearance it is lice. The lice will chew through the shaft on smaller feathers making it appear as if they have been broken instead. (the exception being on the back of a hen that is frequently bred) A molting bird can have an extremely ratty, pathetic look however the feathers remaining on the bird should be entire- not looking stripped. I have seen several examples of wing feathers and other feathers with very clear lice damage. They can be hard to detect. The first time I had a rooster with lice the bird was nearly stripped of his hackles yet I could not see a single insect on him. It was not until I looked in the areas that still looked okay that I saw the clusters of eggs at the base of the feather shafts. Now, I know the symptoms well enough that I can detect them and treat before any real damage happens. Here are a couple images:

Eggs:

Lice Chewed Feather:

 

[Robin'sBrood]

^ NASTY!

 

[SmartyChick]

this thread is making me feel so much better about my chicken's molt