Woot! Maggie has finished molting!!

[redhen]

My white rock just finished molting also! But..now i'm worried about the others...how come they didnt molt?..they are the same age as her.. all born last spring..

 

[Chickapooh23]

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My Buckeye's are 4-6 months younger than my EE, so I am really confused. The EE are not laying as well now and I keep thinking that they are going to start to molt but not so. My best layer (she would lay 6-7wks before missing a day) is only laying 3-4 eggs a wk. Her feathers look a little roughed up and I keep waiting for her to start molting. I kinda wish she would and get it over with. My EE are my skinny chickens and I don't want them to freeze if it gets cold. My Buckeyes are big and meaty hens. They could walk around without feathers and be fine.

Will my roo molt too? He is a buckeye and the same age as the ones molting.

 

[redhen]

good question about the roos! Do roos molt??

 

[CMV]

I have hens that are all the same age and only one of them has gone through a hard molt. The one who molted is my problem child who has been broody all spring and summer. I don't know if the stress of being broody made her go into a hard molt, but none of the other hens have showed any signs of doing the same. The other girls could use a hard molt- their colors are very faded. Is molting an age thing or just an individual thing meaning each bird molts as needed?

 

[Chickapooh23]

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That is a interesting point. I wonder if better layers take longer. I had at least 1 buckeye get a little broody. I say at least 1 because they are the same age and look the same. I can tell them apart if they are standing together because one is a little bigger but on the nest I can't tell who is who and they always use the same nest.

 

[cmom]

Several of my birds just went through pretty heavy molts. It has been hot here in the 90's every day. They did stop laying for about a month. Most, just recently started laying again. I still have some that haven't started back laying yet. They are definitely are looking better. I did put them on 20% protein Game Bird feed while they were going through their molt. It hasn't seem to have effected them any. They still get some yogurt and I always have free choice dishes of oyster shells available.

 

[gritsar]

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Yep, my roo is molting too. Bluey went to bed last night looking just fine, only a little scraggly. This morning she's naked.
She's the one I've been dreading going into a molt. The only way I can tell her apart from her identical sister is by the blue paint on her chest. Now how will I tell?

 

[CMV]

I am getting ready to paint some toenails to keep from confusing 2 of my ducks.

 

[gritsar]

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Oh great! DH is already shaking his head over how much time I spend fussing over the girls saddles. I start painting toenails and I know he'll have my committed.

 

[Chickapooh23]

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Oh great! DH is already shaking his head over how much time I spend fussing over the girls saddles. I start painting toenails and I know he'll have my committed.

Yeah but I bet your chickens would be the featured pic of the week.