The never-ending molt?

[CharlieBird]

Hi,

Our rooster started molting at the end of February. We live in Maine so this was a little alarming, but he did fine through the winter. It was a hard molt and he lost most of his chest feathers, the majority of which still have not grown back. There are also a few hens with small bald patches and one with a larger bald patch on her back. Those are a little more recent.

We have been spraying them with the blue stuff (sorry, I can't remember the name of it) that is supposed to deter any feather pecking. That said, we also haven't observed any aggressive behavior between the hens.

Otherwise, all signs point to good health. We haven't seen any mites, the hens are laying and the combs of the rooster and the hens look fine. They have plenty of space in the coop and in their run, though we usually let them free range for most of the day. We feed them an organic layer pellet, plus mealworms and other treats.

Those with feather loss are a scraggly looking crew! Is there anything we can do to help the feathers grow back? Am I missing something here?

TIA

 

[cherrynberry]

Hi,

Our rooster started molting at the end of February. We live in Maine so this was a little alarming, but he did fine through the winter. It was a hard molt and he lost most of his chest feathers, the majority of which still have not grown back. There are also a few hens with small bald patches and one with a larger bald patch on her back. Those are a little more recent.

We have been spraying them with the blue stuff (sorry, I can't remember the name of it) that is supposed to deter any feather pecking. That said, we also haven't observed any aggressive behavior between the hens.

Otherwise, all signs point to good health. We haven't seen any mites, the hens are laying and the combs of the rooster and the hens look fine. They have plenty of space in the coop and in their run, though we usually let them free range for most of the day. We feed them an organic layer pellet, plus mealworms and other treats.

Those with feather loss are a scraggly looking crew! Is there anything we can do to help the feathers grow back? Am I missing something here?

TIA

The hens could have some over mating problems

 

[CharlieBird]

The hens could have some over mating problems

Will you please elaborate? If that's the case, what can we do? ...and that doesn't really explain why the rooster's feathers don't seem to be filling back in. Thank you!

 

[cherrynberry]

Will you please elaborate? If that's the case, what can we do? ...and that doesn't really explain why the rooster's feathers don't seem to be filling back in. Thank you!

Sorry, I should have been more specific. How many hens do you have with your rooster? What protein percentage do you feed?

 

[CharlieBird]

11 hens, one pugnacious rooster; we feed them this: https://organicfeeds.com/products/chicken/organic-egg-layer-pellets/ plus I often give them dried meal worms and grubs as a treat and they typically free range.

 

[cherrynberry]

11 hens, one pugnacious rooster; we feed them this: https://organicfeeds.com/products/chicken/organic-egg-layer-pellets/ plus I often give them dried meal worms and grubs as a treat and they typically free range.

Usually, after a molt if they don’t grow back their feathers, it may be cause by too less protein. You would have to feed the chickens higher protein during molting season to ensure that they grow their feathers in fully. If the hens have bare backs, it can also be caused by the rooster. I have 1 rooster and now, 17 hens, yet we still get a few hens that are overmated. AND we also free range. A chicken saddle might help. Just try to raise the protein level during molting season. Feeding mealworms is good, but it is still a treat, so it’s best to buy feed that has higher protein. Feathers contain protein and chickens may also eat each other’s feathers if they don’t get enough protein from their feed.

 

[CharlieBird]

Thank you! This is very helpful. I hope you don’t mind one more question: What percent protein would you recommend for the feed?

 

[cherrynberry]

Thank you! This is very helpful. I hope you don’t mind one more question: What percent protein would you recommend for the feed?

20% and higher during molt season. Of course I don’t mind! We once took in a leghorn that never recovered from her molt. Just one year with us, with 20% feed and during her first molt with us she recovered and grew back her feathers fully. You would have to wait for molting season, which is usually during winter and fall. Try to always feed 20% protein and a little higher during winter and fall. If they have mating issues, and their feathers literally broke off, like it’s just a stem, they will also recover during molting season. But higher protein during the other seasons prevents feather eating, which I experienced as well when I accidentally switched to 16% protein.

 

[CharlieBird]

Thank you, thank you!! Our last flock didn’t experience hard molts so I have been at a loss.