My hen is going bald!

[hellymelly]

I know they molt,(this is our second Autumn with her,last year she was still growing and didn't seem to molt)but she is shedding feathers all over the place,it looks like a fox-attack, and she now has big bald patches appearing too-is this ok or should she see the vet? She isn't laying now,but is perky and fine,possibly her comb looks slightly less red.She is a bantam wyandotte.My other hen seems not to be molting at all.

Just a moult, don't worry. They will grow back! It is quite alarming, but absolutely normal. They don't moult in their first autumn, if they were born after April or so, and also lay through their first winter. She will start laying again in the spring.

They take turns at moulting - usually the head chicken goes first (believe it or not). I was a bit when I heard this, BUT had to move an older bird in with some younger ones, where she is not head, and because the 'head' chicken was too young to moult, the older chicken didn't either.

Hi Helly, yes my top chick is molting at the moment. She has always looked beautiful, a speckeldy with masses of thick feathers. Now she looks really scrawny and there are feathers everywhere! I noticed today that our wyndotte has started now and we also have a hen who has been broody for 2 weeks too! Infact, we have 5 chickens and get on average 1 egg a day

One of my hens has been bald patch for whole year. I keep thinking she must have mites of something but she seems OK. She is the boss hen so her bald patch makes her looks really hard.

The cockerel moulted last month but his are growing back now.

She is the less dominant hen I would say,but we only have the two and they are very chummy and harmonious together.Today she is even balder,her neck,huge patches on her side,she looks terrible! Lilybolero I think she was hatched April/May time last year,she started laying last Autumn and laid through the Winter and more through this Summer so that all fits.Am relieved she isn't ailing in some way,the run is full of her feathers.Does she need any special or extra food now?