doctors girls Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 over the last couple of days i have noticed a couple of black feathers in the run and today i went to collect the eggs and in the coop a pillow factory has emerged they are from martha the daisybelle this my first time for the moult so how long does it last for and is their anything out of the ordinary i should be doing and looking out for also somebody told my wife that once they go through the moult they will stop producing eggs?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henergy Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 Oh yes, moulting here too & needing advice. Do we need to do anything ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueandwhite Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 Ebay moulted last September/October, mostly underneath and tail feathers. But she did start laying again once most of them grew back. Sorry can't advise on what you should do, but it didn't seem to bother her. I was just worried she would be cold! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 They can get a little run down and go off their food when they are in moult. They may even look unwell or disinterested in their usual surroundings, but its all normal. Just keep an eye and ensure they are eating and keeping up to their weight. Tempt them with corn or other yummies if they go off eating their pellets/mash AND I totally recommend a vitamin suppl either in food or better still in their water. Time to end of moult varies with each hen, but its always fun to see brand new shiney feathers coming through! Troy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 Oh and yes..forgot to mention, they do stop laying. Laying eggs during this time ceases as all energy is directed to the high requirements needed to go through the moult. However, egg laying resumes once old feathers are shed Troy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henergy Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Mine is acting like a moody teenager - still troughing food down but sleeping alot and being pecky to the others !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tasha and kev Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 now im confused,someone told me its to early for chickens to molt,after i told her one of mine is,all her bum and tail feathers are just dropping off,we put mite talc on her the other day and had feathers everywhere.this chicken that is molting were unsre of the sex not sure if all the lose fly away feathers are malting or that she is a he,xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Hi again! A chicken moults when its about a year to 18 mos old. Somewhere in there. So it depends on how old they were when you got them. Some lose just a few feathers around their heads and necks and you barely notice it, whilst others go the full monty! We have one precious Pekin that moults every October- just when the weather is about to turn we have had her for just over 3 years now and I must say, we had feathers in our mouths and down our t-shirts. They were everywhere. She went off her food and wouldnt go out much with her friends. Now that we know how she behaves, every year about September time we 'prep' her for her moult, fatten her up a bit (live mealworms did the trick last year yuk and put her on growers. That seems to do the trick. Our others moult around August time, but they're not half as prissy, so you see timewise it varies. Sounds like yours is moulting. Many a time we have had naked bottoms and always look forward to the girls putting their new knickers on! Hope that 'unconfuses' you and helps! Troy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tasha and kev Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 hiya.hmnn cant be whats going on with cookie then,as she/hes only about 18weeks,from what we were told,we just know cookies losing alot of feathers from her tail and bum,heres a link to my fb chicken pics,knowone can decide whether its a girl or boy,http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.136918273055164.36175.100002109778990&l=604cf8d370&type=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Hi Tash and Kev No this doesnt sound like a normal moult in your case. The bird is too young for its 'annual' renewal of feathers! Is it possible that he/she is having feathers pulled out by one of the others? It might be self inflicted due to feather mites or nits possibly. Usually when you hold a bird with nits, you will feel the little monsters tingling up your arms. They are white and I believe Feather mites are dark granular sort of specs (these ones are hard to see) Nits you should be able to see around the vent area or under the wings as well, just at the base of the feathers. Cant think what else it could be. I would perhaps treat further for mites. Good luck Troy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tasha and kev Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 hiya weve treated them from mites and lice with some powder,ive also treated there shed,(which is plastic).ive not felt anything whileholding them,wonder if its new feathers,i dont know,im new to chickens and not having much luck keep getting boys,haha.ill check them over again tom when my other half is at home,but we havent seen anything yet.did u manage to see the pics on facebookif you have one,wish you could put pics up on here to show you what i mean,xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfer_chicken Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/27_2709.htm Tasha and Kev: I'm not an expert- but I've been looking up a lot about chick development as mine are 6 weeks now- and this says they can have a partial moult at 20-22 weeks sort of time- so maybe Cookie is moulting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tasha and kev Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 oh maybe then,i just know shes been fine for a couple of weeks then about a wk n half ago just started seeing her look shabby on her tail n bum area but not like my male copper maran.,just looks like feathers are falling out,im only guessing at about 18weeks for her/him,as the owner didnt even know how cookie got into the coop doesnt know where she appeared from,so just going on others i got from there,xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Tasha Give it another week or so, as if this is a partial moult thats seen in younger birds as surfer chicken link says, you should then be able to see new feathers coming through soon. If she is eating well and not looking glum I would just keep an eye on her and as a precaution do another treatment for mites. I cant say any of my birds moulted until they were about 14-16mos old and we got our girls when they were about 8 weeks. But maybe yours is going through some sort of adolescent moult after all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tasha and kev Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 is shes a she haha,noone can make up there minds about her,xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tasha and kev Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 thankyou for your help,xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
