Any coso chicken people know what’s going on with my bird?
Looks like molting, but, this early?
She’s not even 16 months old.
@XanHart Is she acting differently or is it just the feather loss?
Just feather loss. I’d say.
@XanHart If she's showing no signs of illness or mites, it could be stress if one of the others in the flock has taken to bullying her, it could also be that she's not eating enough protein, or it could be a recently developed obsession with self plucking although I haven't seen that too often with chickens. In my flock, feather loss is due to the bully hen.
@XanHart It's certainly possible and normal for some chickens to molt in spring. Has she stopped or reduced laying? A higher protein diet will help her if she's molting.
Daily egg counts fluctuate between 6-9 eggs for 14 birds.
They are mostly heritage breeds.
I’m not out in the barn all the time so I have no clue if she is laying or not.
@XanHart ahhh having a larger flock does make it harder to tell. If she doesn't have mites, she's not stressed, she's not being bullied, and she doesn't look ill... chalk it up to spring molt for now and keep an eye on it to see if it resolves itself in the next few weeks.
@Foxthorn
Yeah these feathers are under her neck and above her breasticle, I’ll check for mites but. She does look raggedy all around.
Could it be a soft molt in spring?