NFMC Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 I think one of my chickens is moulting. I've had my three chickens for about four weeks now and one of them had started laying and has now stopped. There are now a few (not loads, just a few) of her feathers in the coop and around the garden. The feather loss isn't visible or apparent on her body. Does this sound right? Should I be doing anything specific? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koo2cat Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 I'm not an expert but two of mine have just moulted so I think it is the time of year for it. I am not sure how old chickens have to be to moult for the first time but I am sure someone else on here will know. They obviously don't lose all their feathesr in a moult but mine end up looking a bit scraggy for a couple of weeks then you start to see the new feathers coming through. Quite interesting really. It is quite useful to give them a tonic when moulting which you can get from any chickeny supplier including Omlet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyclonetog Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 Yep one of my Pekins is moulting, there can be an Autumn moult and I think the warm weather has made it a bit late. Eggs and feathers are very high in protein, so they won't lay wile growing new feathers. Some high protein food will help, you could add some cheap dry cat food to their pellets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaspersmum Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 Hiya, Sounds like a normal moult to me. One of ours is going through her third annual moult and always seems to do it this time of year - and usually just before the snow arrives! She doesn't have and bald patches this time (has virtually looked oven ready in previous years) but there are feathers all over the floor of the run. She tends to stop laying for a while as she goes through the worst of it so we swear by Poultry Spice powder to help them through - though we have used liquid tonics in their water before we don't seem to get quite such good results with that. It's a good idea to cut back on the treats too and make sure they get plenty of pellets/mash which has plenty of protein rather than anything too starchy. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindafw Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 mine have poultry spice whenever they look peeky...it always does the trick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeckyBeak Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 The first moult is usually a neck moult and not too bad, in future years, they lose lot's more feathers. They often feel very down during this time and the new growth can be uncomfortable for them so they tend to not like being handled. Mine also get very tetchy with each other. I have found Netex Total Moulting Solution to be very good, you add it to their water for 30 days. If you can spare any, scrambled eggs will give them a protein boost as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
