Chicken bald back

[Chickabee]

Is it normal for a pullet to moult. She hasn't laid an egg yet and has lots of feathers missing from her back. She does have some new quills coming through. I'm just a bit worried that it might be because she's bottom of the pecking order and not a moult at all. I can move her if needs be

[loumabel]

Hi, I don't know how helpful this is but my two newbies 17 weeks old are losing feathers at the moment and I think are having a kind of mini moult. I don't know if this is normal or not so I am just giving them lifeguard tonic and a few meal worms to compensate.

[redsunset]

Not ever had a chook that young moult so can't say if it's impossible or not though? Could the others be taking a nibble at bedtime I wonder? Someone more experienced will tell. I still consider myself very much a newbie in a lot of depts re the chooks so really can't be sure?

[mullethunter]

Bernie did a partial moult (tail and neck feathers) at about 9 months old, but she had already laid for a few weeks.

[Chickabee]

Not sure how old this one us. I bought her as a pullet, close to lay. Nothing so far. Hope she's ok. Did give them some tonic, perhaps I should continue and some extra protein.

 

All wormed a short while ago

[mimi5]

A partial moult as a young hen can happen (mine have all done this as pullets) it's mostly neck feathers and some tail. Back sounds more like bulling/feather eating under cover of darkness I should know as my Polly does this Check the coop and run.....any evidence of the missing feathers??? Are they in the poo trays??? If there are none to be found, they are being eaten

 

Could you try anti-peck? Smells awful, but does deter! Give the feathers time to re-grow?

[PixieDust]

Was actually going to ask as mine are 8 months old and Lily is laying softies or brittle shelled eggs quite often. Have upped her calcium. On the day of the Eclipse I thought a fight had made Lily lose quite a few feathers but she is shedding a couple every day - down feathers mainly.

 

Are mine likely to go through a mini-moult this Spring? They didn't moult before the Winter.

[Chickabee]

Who knows . I've had hens who never appear to have moulted and some that end up looking half plucked and don't lay for months. It's one of those chicken rules, they make it up as they go