# Molting or something worse?



## Aaron s (Dec 15, 2021)

Hi all,
I'm new to chicken ownership and this is the first molting my chickens have been through, they are about 1.5 years old. One of them has lost a ton of feathers and I'm not sure if she is just having a hard time with it or is it something more serious that I need to address. I have 5 total and the other 4 look totally normal. Thanks for any advice.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

OK, my eyes bugged out a bit. She is a mess. Lots and lots of quills there so she is reproducing the feathers she lost. 

I'd watch to make sure the sheaths comes off the quills on their own. If not you might have the unpleasant job of removing them for her. It doesn't happen often but it does happen.

Love the pics of the feather patterns. You don't realize how intricate they are until you see them up close. Nice photos.


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## Aaron s (Dec 15, 2021)

Thank you. She does look a little like a porcupine right now. Removing all of the sheaths myself sounds like quite a job.
Is her bare bottom any concern or will that fill in after the bigger feathers?


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## Hania41806 (May 4, 2021)

I had a hen do this Lost almost every single feather on her body during molt. Just make sure your girl gets enough protein so the feathers come out healthy. I fed my girls fish during their molt and they loved it


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## Aaron s (Dec 15, 2021)

Hania41806 said:


> I had a hen do this Lost almost every single feather on her body during molt. Just make sure your girl gets enough protein so the feathers come out healthy. I fed my girls fish during their molt and they loved it


Thanks for the tip, I'll grab some fish and give it a shot.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I see new quills there so she should be fine.


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## imnukensc (Dec 5, 2020)

That's a heavy molt, but she'll be fine.


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## Aaron s (Dec 15, 2021)

Thanks! Seems like the consensus is it's just molting. I'll keep an eye on her and see what happens.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

If she gets standoffish and moves away or doesn't roost. Don't panic. This is a painful process and with all the quills she has I can see her isolating herself.


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## janamsingh (Mar 31, 2020)

when my aseels molted, they almost lost all of their feathers. but later on, they were just fine.
The same was the case with my ducklings, during molting, most of the hair was gone. but later on, they had even more pretty feathers than before.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

janamsingh said:


> when my aseels molted, they almost lost all of their feathers. but later on, they were just fine.
> The same was the case with my ducklings, during molting, most of the hair was gone. but later on, they had even more pretty feathers than before.


And this is when you post pics of how bad they look to help others going through the same thing. 

Just sayin'.


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## janamsingh (Mar 31, 2020)

my ducks are so much pretty now. both of them. a sweet couple. they are truly very amazing now. nice feathers


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## Animals45 (May 11, 2021)

Molting.


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## Aaron s (Dec 15, 2021)

Well I had to isolate her for a while, the others decided they wanted to peck her bloody on all sides. After a couple weeks she is getting back to normal. 
She's on the left.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

That's unusual. You must have some really curious birds to bother her like that. At least you could pull her out so she could finish her molt without them bugging her.


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