What are these l brackets for

[jackian]

Poppy my lovely Ginger nut is about 20 months old and this is her first moult and she is really feeling sorry for herself .

It has been about a week or so now and she is still laying an egg every other day but is now losing her larger feathers.

I know it is not a hard and fast rule but how long is it expected to last

[loumabel]

Myrtle my bantam Wyandotte has been moulting now for about a month and she is coming out the other side now, nearly all her feathers are grown with a few prickly ones still to grow, so I guess about another week or so to go. I don't know what the norm is though but mine always seem to take over a month to go through it.

[Plum]

Mine seem to do it the slow way and lose feathers from one part and regrow then from another and work the way round their bodies so it takes ages.

[sjp]

any thing from 2 weeks to a couple of months but that's not a hard and fast statement my cockerel Boris started in July and is still gowing I think he's doing it one feather at a time. there's comment that keeps coming up every now and again that say's that the better the layer the quicker the moult and to a certain extent at least with my mob isn't far off the mark

[Plum]

I go with that. I just bought eggs

[clucker1]

What about those that never moult? Of my original 3 Omlet girls who are all now nearly 3 years old, they have all been good layers and only one of them has ever done a bit of a moult. Whereas, dopey drawers Dimrose who is the most pathetic chicken with NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO brain is only 9 months and looks as if she has been through a hedge backwards. Her saving grace is she does lay 5 days out of 7 normally.

[jackian]

Thanks for your replies.. She usually lays every day but is still laying every other so I am hoping the poor thing will get it over with as soon as possible.I thought they did not lay when moulting! In fact I think Clover the Pepperpot must be coming out in sympathy as I have just come home from work and there are a couple of black ones about They are both about the same age .

[clucker1]

Hmmm, well funny you should mention that because my favourite chicken, Cluck who is now nearly 3 and had a bit of a moult laid an egg today, despite being with fewer feathers and all of her lovely tail feathers have gone too.