calmbreeze Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 hi - we are fairly new to chooks so please help! we have a light sussex, not sure how old she is because we rescued her. she had been broody and sitting on the nest but none of them hatched so after more than enough extra time we took the eggs away - that was 2 weeks ago. now everytime we go out there is feathers everywhere!!! she is not being pecked by the others they are just falling out at an alarming rate, she will be bald in the next day or so. she is drinking and eating well and running about. my other half recons she is depressed because none of the egss hatched but i think she might just be moulting? if so how long before her new feathers appear? - is there anything we can do to help the new ones come through quicker? or could it be something else . .. . ? please help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffy chick Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 If she is bald underneath it's probably from when she was broody. If they're from all over then I would guess a a moult too. Some of mine are moulting. Oh and I add poultry spice to their food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandychick Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 It is the time of year for moulting, and the amount of feathers can look quite alarming One of mine has just done a mega-moult and the other one has gone for a less drastic version! There are various suppliments available to give them a boost when going through a moult, but I don't usually bother unless they seem to be struggling with new feathers. They can look very scraggy for a few weeks, but the new feathers should start to show through soon - if you have a look at the base of the feathers, you will see little spikey stalk looking things growing through! They look lovely when they have grown their new feathers It is unlikely that she is depressed about the eggs not hatching - in my experience they don't really have an emotional view on things! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calmbreeze Posted September 19, 2011 Author Share Posted September 19, 2011 thanks for replies - i didnt think she is depressed but its my hubby's fav hen - he looks after her better than me! i did hope it was just a moult - she is almost bare tonight - hope the new feathers come throu soon!!! connie mable major Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melbourne12 Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 One of ours looked almost oven-ready in the depths of her moult! Our chickens are mostly recovering from their moult now, and it looks as if it'll take about 6 weeks per bird. I was sufficiently concerned to blog about it, with pix and details here: http://johnnorman.wordpress.com/2011/09/18/more-about-moulting/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calmbreeze Posted September 20, 2011 Author Share Posted September 20, 2011 not many feathers on her this morning at all - she looked cold but wanted to be outside with the others!! everyone thinks she has been attacked by a cat or something!! - but they are all very safely in there nice big run Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzzboy Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 Guess a moult is on the way I have used poultry spice and poultry shield for my birds and during the moult must say it can look alarming but once the new feathers are through they look stunning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calmbreeze Posted September 22, 2011 Author Share Posted September 22, 2011 update- been moulting 5 days now and very nearly bald - see looks so funny. in addition to her morning feed of layers, we have been giving her poultry spice in porridge (her fav food) to try and help keep her warm. a.c.v. in water and today as a special treat we bought her some meal worms. she is eating very well, drinking well and running round like a good'un. i joked my mum will have to knit her a jumper to keep her warm!!!! xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercedes55 Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 Out of our 8 girls 3 of them are moulting really badly. We bought those particular 3 at the same time, so guess they are all the same age and wondered if that was why they are having such a big moult whereas our ex batts have already had a little moult and our other 2 young hybrids aren't moulting at all. The 3 who are moulting badly have lost all their little fluffy feathers around their bums and also under their wings and look quite awful. I always put Poultry Spice in their food anyway so haven't given them any other supplements. I was worried at first that they might have something else wrong with them but having had a close look at them I can see tons of pin feathers coming through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckmum6 Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 It is the best time of year for them to moult, some of mine wait until December and then drop all their feathers - brrrrrr oven ready, frozen chickens! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 When a hen has been broody for a period of time they will usually moult regardless of the time of year Some chooks moult over a long period of time if its a normal moult but the stress of broodiness, a sudden change in temperature or general stress a chook can 'drop moult' which is quite a shock to witness! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calmbreeze Posted September 23, 2011 Author Share Posted September 23, 2011 thanks all for the posts, today we have spotted the first signs of new growth - so hopefully they will come through quickly, she still has a few more to drop - and she does look very very scruffy and bald!! the others haven't lost any feathers but as we rescued them we haven't a clue how old they are! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocchick Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 Some chooks moult over a long period of time if its a normal moult but the stress of broodiness, a sudden change in temperature or general stress a chook can 'drop moult' which is quite a shock to witness! That's interesting Abbie always moults in about December when the temperature suddenly drops and she really goes for it back to bald skin http://sarah.blog.urbanchicken.org.uk/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=216&blogId=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
