I noticed today that one of our buff orps was pulling out feathers from her back. After seeing this, I looked around at their favorite spots in the yard (they free-range all day) and found a small pile of her feathers under our deck. She hatched in early March and we are not sure if she or the other buff orp laid a little brown egg that we found yesterday. Is this the start of molting or is it stress or heat? Our temps have been in the high 80's/low 90's the past week or so...actually down from where they had been. Generally I would say that our yard is stress-free, but just a little while ago I came home from errands and stumbled upon a hawk swooping into the yard looking for a snack. Thank goodness the girls scattered and the hawk went home hungry. Could this have been happening other times when we are not home and stressing her out? I guess that it is time to enclose the top of the run and quit the free-ranging.
thanks for any help!
thanks for any help!
