questions about molt..

[Doodle_Doo]

I have three roos and 4 hens all losing a lot of tail feathers like crazy they are longtails..silver phoenix,sumatra and every day in their stalls I find 5 to 6 feathers all over the floor..they are eating well,drinking well don't seem sick and checked for mites and are clean they are just very fiesty..they get annoyed when they get picked up and the roo's in the single stalls are getting very annoyed and sort of pur and make noises they look like they are about to jump at me..are these signs of a feather molt they are 14 months old never had a molt..anything I can do to help them through it like feed, vitamins, anything? Thank you

 

[dawg53]

Sounds like molt to me. The roosters are mad at you for messing with their girls. You can buy poultry nutri drench and add it in their water. Stop using it after 3 days, it can cause diarrhea. Use it again in about a weeks time if you wish. It has vitamins and minerals in it to help your chickens keep up their strength and health. You can also on occasion provide them yogurt or buttermilk (probiotics) with scrambled eggs or canned beef catfood(extra protein) mixed in their feed to make a mash and give it to them.