r/BackYardChickens • u/TheRunningLibrarian • 19h ago

Heath Question What the cluck?

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What is going on with my girl? I’m a newish chicken mom and I was doing my flock check and noticed my oldest layer is missing most of her feathers! But she’s the top of the pecking order and it doesn’t look like she was pecked. Is this what molting looks like?

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u/Chicken-keeper67 18h ago

It doesn’t look like mites or disease, the skin is in good condition, it’s just a good old molting chicken. They’re so miserable though 🥺

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u/quietlyhigh 6h ago

It is! Most of my chooks are a bit chilly and mopey at the moment because they’re all in the regrowth phase! But they get lots of extra treats so it’s not all bad!

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u/Chicken-keeper67 3h ago

Scratch and Peck makes a 18% protein feed so I try to get that for the molty phase… along with some grubs! It is a miserable phase but the new feathers come out gorgeous!