i haven't heard of anything special. maybe just whatever her favorite thing is to eat? what makes her the joker of the bunch?

Hi there. I know what you mean. I don't honestly remember going through this last fall, though our two buffies were much younger.
THIS fall however, one of our gals started to look just ratty. She first lost all of her feathers around her neck. They share the pen with 4 indian runners so I began looking very suspiciously at one of our drakes.
Then she lost her tail feathers, and her rump looked just plain round. THEN she lost all of her feathers around her vent area. I was starting to get concerned, except I could see the bristles around her neck where her feathers were coming in. Buffy didn't act herself either, she seemed reluctant to start the day and wouldn't come when I called.

I started to worry a little, but she didn't quit eating, so I just kept on eye on her. Poor girl. Her sister didn't seem to suffer this year at all.

It looks like it feels awful itchy, like coming home from a fresh haircut every hour, every day. Best I could do was make sure she had plenty of dirt to roll in - but it's hard for us to keep anything dry much for very long in these parts, so she just had to hang in there. Ours is better now, but I had to get after the rest of the flock for making fun of her.

To make her feel better, I explained that one of my co-workers commissioned me to make a set of wings for their halloween costume this year, so her feathers won't be wasted in vain. The set of wings I'm making, I told her - would be "golden tipped" thanks to her troubles.

She was rather non-plussed, but oh well.

LF

I've got a few girls molting now as well, most molted over the summer though.

One of my favorite girls "Cleo" has been molting for months now, it has been the longest I've seen yet. I too suspected feather pecking and ordered pick-no more lotion. I've realized since then it's just been a really bad molt. I've added some gamebird food to their feed to up the protein (helps support feather growth).

My Cleo is FINALLY growing new feathers, she was so bald she looked ready for the table! I never wanted to see a chicken like that walking around my backyard, TMI, naked chickens are not pretty! absolutely no dignity there.

Try adding a little protein to her feed.

-Sheila

Yep, they DO get embarrassed by their looks when they are molting. Just continue to tell her she's a pretty girl... :)

Growing feathers takes a lot of protein, so you can offer her tidbits that are rich in protein to help her out--live mealworms, scrambled eggs, cooked ground beef, etc. I don't think they feel flu-like, but the new pinfeathers ARE prickly and uncomfortable, and my girls get grumpy and DO NOT want to be picked up or petted when new feathers are coming in, I think it hurts them to be handled at that stage. I think they shiver a bit because they are just plain cold!

My hens decided that 'molt your tail' was the 'in' thing to do this year. I had about ten hens drop their tails at the same time. Weird. :)

Velvet ~:>

Thanks for the encouragement, all of you...Biddy has hit the lowest point now and has nowhere to go but up.
You asked, Picklespickles, what makes her such a brat..basically just that...when all the other chickens stayed out of the vegetable garden as I had trained them...Biddy would be inside it...and when I went in to chase her out by brandishing my broom...she would hide in a tomato bush or under the eggplant bushes. When I finally dislodged her from under her cover, she would fly to the top of the fence squawking madly and waving her wings. It was so obviously an act..it seemed she was trying to tell the entire neighborhood that I was picking on her. No, it is just a series of things...that show her attitude..teasing and sort of pushing the limits...some thing you need to see to really understand.
Thanks, Sheila and Velvet, for the suggestions of more protein in their diet. I have tried it and I think it is a good idea.
By the way,I was glad to hear from you, Velvet ...I have referred to your page several times and gained some valuable advice.
There are some great descriptions of chickens moulting in your answers...while I was reading them I suddenly wondered if the great masters of the Renaissance who painted and sculpted the angels with those huge wings raised chickens that moulted....Oh, well, probably angels wouldn't moult anyway.

LF, What are Indian Runners?

By the way, HAPPY HALLOWEEN to all.
Lina.
.

Hey Laa laa, Indian Runners are ducks - but they're a bit different than the ones you normally think of. They don't fly and they don't waddle the same, but instead they stand upright. They're lightwieight, streamline, vertical creatures and are usually "on the go, single file, with intention!"...like a bowling ball, though they more resemble a bowling PIN on flippers.

They're egg layers and our two duck hens are just as reliable as our chickens and every bit as comical.

Despite the fact that they seldom go broody, in reprisal for naming her "Rochester" i guess, one of ours DID actually sit out a clutch of one egg this summer. She went full term too, but the duckling didn't make it. Rochester may have accidentally killed it after the duckling began to pip. It was making real progress getting out of its shell, but my guess is that Rochester just didn't have the smarts to get up OFF the egg and it smothered, but that's only a guess. We should have taken the egg in and let it finish in the brooder box, but we thought it rude not to let her keep it. Maybe next year...anyway in general, they make rotten mothers i'm told, but she gave it her all. Poor Rochester.

You can see them on Feathersite, or, I think there was an Indian Runner featured in the movie - "Babe".

Glad to hear Biddy is on the upswing!

LFRJ