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Moult? Or something else?

Posted: Sat Jul 13, 2019 1:51 pm
by Blizblaz
One of my hens is looking quite scraggly. She started off losing feather in a ring around her neck, now she looks like a plucked chicken on her underside. I picked her up to check her out and her feathers seemed kind of limp and moist-she was dust bathing in some moist dirt, so maybe that is all it was? She has been laying same as usual.
Is it weird for one to be moulting in the middle of the summer? Everyone else looks normal.

Re: Moult? Or something else?

Posted: Sat Jul 13, 2019 7:44 pm
by Ontario Chick
Mine are starting to molt too, not really that weird, some are such neat molters you barely ever notice and would swear they never molted, some pretty much denude themselves.
The old feathers coming out and new ones making their way in must be itchy, which makes them go for a dust/mud bath as often as they ca, which just makes them look that much worse, basically like a partially plucked chicken. The fact that she is still laying means that
a) she is a good producer, and
b) that she looks so much worse, using protein for both laying and growing new feathers. :2cents:

Re: Moult? Or something else?

Posted: Sat Jul 13, 2019 9:16 pm
by Blizblaz
Thanks! It just seemed so early, I got a little worried, since suddenly she was looking plucked and all ratty from being covered in dirt! I gave them some acrambled eggs today, so hopefully the extra protein will do her good!

Re: Moult? Or something else?

Posted: Sat Jul 13, 2019 9:23 pm
by Kbr42
I find when they moult in the summer they get super warm, poor things, it's very hard on them. I'm sure they will enjoy the scrambled eggs!

Re: Moult? Or something else?

Posted: Sun Jul 14, 2019 7:09 am
by Killerbunny
Also, try not to let them get sunburn.

Re: Moult? Or something else?

Posted: Sun Jul 14, 2019 10:47 am
by Blizblaz
I’ll have to watch out for that!

Re: Moult? Or something else?

Posted: Mon Jul 15, 2019 1:03 am
by windwalkingwolf
What @Ontario Chick said!
Most adult birds, most of the time, moult in late summer-late fall, but they can and do go anytime of the year. Hens will often moult right after a broody spell, and since they can go broody 5 times a year in our climate, and I have a lot of broodies toting chicks around right now, my coops and lawn look like 10000 people had a pillow fight. It's also a weird year for moulting though--I have a bunch of roosters blowing feathers for seemingly no reason, for the past three months.
But yeah, the scraggly bald neck is normal. Every bird moults differently, and often each moult is different from the last. The ones that happen in January or February are the WORST from the perspective of a freezing human!

Re: Moult? Or something else?

Posted: Mon Jul 15, 2019 8:30 am
by WLLady
i have a jenny moulting right now-we had to clip her wing because she grew those feathers fast and was hell bent on roosting on the roof of the barn. so DH goes out, i chase her into the pen and he catches her and the feathers just start stripping out....omg....we did the clipping fast, but it looks like someone exploded an entire feather bed in the pen! then she runs outside with the other birds and shakes-and loses even more! i might have a naked turkey by tonight!

Re: Moult? Or something else?

Posted: Mon Jul 15, 2019 9:56 am
by Shnookie
I have a couple of hens starting a partial molt.