rhode island reds looseing feathers

[thezimmie71]

hi my 2 reds hens started loosing feathers at the neck area looks like a pin cusion barbs sticking out both have this and feathers every where is this molting ,and is there a chance of them freezing i live in pa southern and its been 20s at night please help merry xmas

 

[sheila3935]

how old are they? sound like maybe molt, not sure though mine havent gone through that they are too young, but if it is feed them more protein to help the feathers regrow. Most people on here have chickens that molt this time of year and they do fine. If you want you could add heat to your coop just be VERY careful what you use as alot of heat sources can cause fires.

 

[CMV]

Sounds like a molt to me, too. I have one currently in the same state. It is ridiculously cold where I'm at and the hens that are molting have been spending a lot of time inside the coop during the day, which is unusual for them. The cold does seem to be bothering them a bit more than usual. I would not add any heat unless you are really worried. Chickens are really tough and can handle just about anything that is thrown at them. Supplemental heat may give you more problems in the long run than you anticipate. If your birds are acclimated to the cold they should do fine, but if they are used to toasty warm temps and the power should go out, you will have some pretty miserable birds.

Good luck.