[gailtearle]

 :unsure:hi ive just come home from work to find feathers every where and a very scruffy looking chook, can anyone tell me if she is moulting and if so how long will this take ? i have three chooks but the others are fine , not a feather out of place . seems strange that its only one of them ..... do they moult at different times ? 

[themagicaltoad1]

If you're sure she hasn't been attacked by anything, then yes she's probably moulting. Some can end up looking like they're almost oven ready, others just look scruffy for a while, and they don't always pick the warmest time to do it. You can give her a bit of fishy cat food for extra protein and she probably won't lay while she's putting all her energy into producing new feathers.

[Lindeggs]

Apparently the most productive hens are the ones that look worst during the moult!  They will drop a huge number of feathers at once then re-grow them all, then get back to laying pretty fast.  The slow moulters may drag the process out over weeks or months.  Different breeds and different individual birds will moult at different times and different speeds. 

So you should congratulate your girl for having a good moult, make sure she has plenty of good quality food (with maybe a little protein boost) and continue with all your usual good practises like making sure their housing is clean and dry. 

[tstainesmoore]

yep she is probably moulting they can all moult at different times just depends on the individual bird, she will stop laying during a mooult but should resume once the new feathers have come through should be about 2-3 weeks