What's wrong?

[Alanadair04]

Hi,
I have one hen that appears to be losing feathers all over but especially around her head. She's a barred rock and will be 1 year old in April. She's in a flock with 16 other healthy hens. Any information would be appreciated, thanks.

Alan

 

[ChickenCanoe]

It could be a molt. What is your location?

 

[Eggcessive]

She seems young for molting, but not impossible. Have you spent some time with them to see if any others are pulling out her feathers? How much room do they have in your coop, and what do you feed them?

 

[Alanadair04]

She seems young for molting, but not impossible. Have you spent some time with them to see if any others are pulling out her feathers? How much room do they have in your coop, and what do you feed them?

Hi, I'm in South Carolina and I feed them Nature's Best organic egg layer crumbles. I also move them around with mobile netting to free range but it's winter so grass and bugs aren't really in their diet right now.

 

[Eggcessive]

How many are inside the coop at a time, and how large is the coop and run? They will sometimes just stand there or sit on the roost while another picks their feathers. You may need to spend some time watching them to find out who is pulling feathers.

 

[Criticalicious]

If you don't observe feather pulling from peers, I would vote molting. Double check for lice or mites to be safe. I have one pullet less than a year old who had a hard molt this winter. Her head looked the worst. It took about 6 weeks for the feathers to grow back properly and she was miserable. Her clutchmate also molted but it was not as obvious. Every chicken is different, even in the same breed.

 

[staceyj]

If you’ve checked her over for lice and mites (and don’t see evidence) I’d suggest gently examining her. Look at her “underneath” and lift her feathers around her neck.
I suspect she’s sporting some porcupine quills under her down jacket.

I’m in the southern coastal portion coastal of NC, so near-ish to you.

Even though she’s just 1, her comb tells me it’s a molt.

I have one that held back on a molt when the others went through it until just a few weeks ago.
Then one morning I opened the coop and POOF!
Feathers everywhere!

Over the next few days check your coop in the morning to see if there are suddenly more feathers on the floor than usual.

That and a peek under her coat will solve this mystery.

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

I have an EE pullet that was hatched in March of this year and she went through a hard molt in December. Unusual, but it can happen!