2009 Omlet cube and run for sale

[Samuel Morse]

I think my two Light Sussex girls are moulting but I am looking for reassurance, please.

 

I have read that chickens moult in a certain order, in terms of where they begin loosing feathers and where on their body the feather loss progresses but my two aren't showing identical signs.

 

There were a lot of feathers probably a week or two before the snow set in. Now one has feathers missing around her breast area and slightly below (I can see skin, a small patch looks a bit red, the rest pink, and what I think what are called pin feathers -- white quill like stubs), while the other one seems to be missing tail feathers and feathers around her neck (again there are pin feathers there).

 

They seem a bit miffed by the snow and won't come out of their run which is covered and dry. Only one is laying but I'm not sure which one. They seem to be eating but maybe eating less than in normal weather. Their combs aren't loud and proud but neither are they shrivelled up like when one went broody. They are about a year old.

 

So, moult then, yes?

[chelsea]

Yep, sounds like a moult to me.

 

Mine all started with neck feathers, you may find that eventually they may both stop laying for a while and their combs will become pale and they will seem a bit less active than normal.

 

You could give them the once over for lice just to be on the safe side.

 

Extra protein once in a while like extra mealworms as a treat and rinsed tuna will help with the regrowth.

[coco]

One of my ex batts Lily is moultng and had a completely bare bottom at the weekend. She was really miserable all weekend but is happily back to her usual obnoxious self now. Her feathers are starting to grow back but she is looking a bit thin further up her body now. I've been giving extra protein such a mealyworms [went through half a tub last weekend trying to cheer her up] and tuna [in spring water] with a bit pf poultry spice mixed into their food. They don't half pick good times to moult don't they.

[Samuel Morse]

thank you both.

 

I've given them some porridge with tuna this morning and they ate some of that, though not as much as I expected but still more than I would have ate.

[quickcluck]

I think my Princess is in her first moult. There's a little loss on the neck and now she's very scant under her wings and tummy. She's also stopped laying

[gareth]

It does sound like a moult mine have just started to finsih growing back. I have no idea why they do it in the cold? Doesnt make sense but they do. I bet if you look for the new quils/tubes youl see them and feathers will start to come out of them. I am sure theyl be fine

[Samuel Morse]

I have an updated query about this. The hen whose neck feathers had shed have storted to grow back. But the one who had lost hers below her chest haven't but she has gone broody, so would that account for it? She has no pin feathers as far as I could tell.

[Chicken Shirl]

Yes, the hen with the bare chest, is simply broody, she will probably moult when she comes out of it. The other one with the feathers coming through, is moulting. They should both stop laying for a while.

[Samuel Morse]

So has her being broody stopped the moulting process midway?

 

EDIT: Both have stopped laying now. The broody one was still laying when the other wasn't.

[Barkisland]

My 6 girls have all recently moulted. They lost their feathers randomly over a period of weeks. They look fabulous and fluffy now though, just in time for Spring and the 'courting' they imagine they are going to do

[Chicken Shirl]

My 6 girls have all recently moulted. They lost their feathers randomly over a period of weeks. They look fabulous and fluffy now though, just in time for Spring and the 'courting' they imagine they are going to do

 

So has her being broody stopped the moulting process midway?

 

Probably never was moulting. My two best broody hens both have bare chests all the time. I can feel their skin when I pick them up, they feel oven ready.

[Samuel Morse]

My two best broody hens both have bare chests all the time.

 

So why do broody hens lose their feathers there? She was broody once before (which was when she was finally named Teacosy) and I don't recall her losing feathers then. Haven't come across this before. Yeah, she does look a bit oven ready.

[Chicken Shirl]

My two best broody hens both have bare chests all the time.

 

So why do broody hens lose their feathers there? She was broody once before (which was when she was finally named Teacosy) and I don't recall her losing feathers then. Haven't come across this before. Yeah, she does look a bit oven ready.

 

Need one of the experts on here to answer that one. Redwing, Claret, Jooles, ANH are you out there?..................Their feathers seem to grow around the bareness so that you can't tell that they are bare underneath. I hope that makes sense. If her chest is bare of those covering feathers then she could be moulting. Has she got any other sighns of being broody? ...............Love her name.......My daughter nicknames one of ours " Pin Cushion" when she is broody.

[coco]

Coco pulled her chest feathers out when she was broody to line her nest. She was totally bald underneath.

[laurmurf]

they go broody on their tums so that the heat of their skin is in direct contact with the eggs: just feel the tummy of a broody - roasty toasty!

[Samuel Morse]

Ah, thanks that is interesting to know. And that is one scary avatar.

[sue downes]

I think my two Light Sussex girls are moulting but I am looking for reassurance, please.

 

I have read that chickens moult in a certain order, in terms of where they begin loosing feathers and where on their body the feather loss progresses but my two aren't showing identical signs.

 

There were a lot of feathers probably a week or two before the snow set in. Now one has feathers missing around her breast area and slightly below (I can see skin, a small patch looks a bit red, the rest pink, and what I think what are called pin feathers -- white quill like stubs), while the other one seems to be missing tail feathers and feathers around her neck (again there are pin feathers there).

 

They seem a bit miffed by the snow and won't come out of their run which is covered and dry. Only one is laying but I'm not sure which one. They seem to be eating but maybe eating less than in normal weather. Their combs aren't loud and proud but neither are they shrivelled up like when one went broody. They are about a year old.

 

So, moult then, yes?

 

Hi, My ex-battery, Becki is moulting. She started losing her feathers at least four weeks ago from her back and tail feathers and she looks dreadful but seems happy. We have been away for nearly two weeks and in that time her comb is not so red so I assume she isn't laying. I thought that was the case before we went away as she is in moult. However, near the two remaining tail feathers I noticed she is a little red or has been bleeding - is this anything to to worry about? When will her feathers start to re-grow? When I got her last July she didn't have any neck feathers but these all grew back so will she lose these as well? I did chicken inspection today and noticed that one of my other girlies has lost a lot of feathers under her wings is this normal? The cube is cleaned regularly and I cleaned it thoroughly just after Christmas so I don't think they have mites. Vy the way I have four hens and getting at least 3 eggs a day!